LIAO-SONG DYNASTY, 10TH-12TH CENTURY

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.