A DARK GREEN JADE CARVING OF AN OWL

SHANG DYNASTY, C. 1600-1046 BC

Details

A DARK GREEN JADE CARVING OF AN OWL
SHANG DYNASTY, C. 1600-1046 BC
The jade is finely carved in the round depicting an owl in the round seated upright on its haunches with paws resting on its knees. Its eyes, chest, and feathers are delineated by thin groove lines. There is a circular aperture through the mouth and a conical indentation beneath each ear.
1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) high, box

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong in 1992

Lot Essay

Compare to a similar jade carving of an owl excavated from the tomb of the Shang queen, Fu Hao, consort of king Wu Ding, at Anyang, Henan province, illustrated in Yinxu Fuhao mu (The Jades from the tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu), Beijing, 1980, pl. 137, no. 3 (465).

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