LIAO-SONG DYNASTY, 10TH-12TH CENTURY

Details

A YELLOW JADE CARVING OF A FISH
LIAO-SONG DYNASTY, 10TH-12TH CENTURY
The fish is realistically carved with a long dorsal fin along the spine, four lower fins, and a curled bifurcated tail. The mouth and the center of the back are each pierced with a tiny perforation. The stone is of a light yellow tone with a dusting of russet.
4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) long

Provenance

Robert H. Ellsworth (1929-2014), New York.
The LJZ Collection, United States.

Literature

A. Carter, The LJZ Collection of Chinese Jades, London, 2022, pp. 54-55, no. 22.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Two small white jade fish of this type and size (10.5 cm.) were found suspended as pendants in the Middle Liao tomb of the princess of the State Chen at Qingtongshanzhen Maimanqi, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, and are illustrated by Gu Fang (ed.), The Complete Collection of Unearthed Jades in China, vol. 2, Beijing, 2005, pl. 95. Each fish is pierced through the mouth, as is the present fish. Another yellowish-green jade fish of comparable size (9 cm.), pierced as a pendant, is illustrated by Jessica Rawson, “Chinese Jade throughout the ages”, Victoria and Albert Museum, T.O.C.S., vol. 40, 1973-75, no. 370.

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