AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE WHITE JADE 'GOAT' PLAQUE, SONG - YUAN DYNASTY
Auction Closed
September 22, 03:56 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE WHITE JADE 'GOAT' PLAQUE
SONG - YUAN DYNASTY
宋至元 白玉雙羊牌
of flattened form, delicately carved with a large goat depicted recumbent with the legs neatly tucked beneath the body, its horned head turned sharply toward the back looking at a small goat clambering on its back, the reverse flat, pierced with seven pairs of 'bull's nose' apertures for attachment, the softly polished stone of an attractive even color
Length 1¼ in., 3.3 cm
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).
來源
史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）收藏
Ingeniously conceived and executed complementing the form of the stone resulting in a quasi three-dimensional effect, this exquisite plaque is a testimony to the exceptional level of mastery achieved by the ancient jade artisans in China. While no close counterparts are known to have been recorded, it can be compared to a related white jade plaque, of flattened form, and carved in a comparable manner depicting a recumbent horse with the head turned sharply to the back, attributed to the Song dynasty, in the Sunglin Collection, exhibited in The Sunglin Collection of Chinese Art and Archaeology, Herbert J. Devine Galleries, New York, 1930, cat. no. H-923; a Liao dynasty jade pendant, cleverly incorporating the natural shape of the jade to form a recumbent bear, excavated in You'ai village, Balin Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, now in the Chifeng City Museum, Inner Mongolia, included in the exhibition Gilded Splendor. Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125), Asia Society, 2006, cat. no. 78; and two further bear-form pendants with pairs of apertures at the reverse, attributed to Liao to Jin dynasty, illustrated in Zhongguo gudai yuqi yishu [Art of jade in ancient China], vol. 2, Beijing, 2004, pls 214 and 215.
本品雙羊玉牌，大羊作顧首狀，小羊作攀背式，構思奇巧，設計精妙，呈現半立體效果，當屬時之佳品，尤見其匠工之精湛技藝。此牌極為稀罕，並無它例見載，類者可見一白玉牌例，雕臥馬回首，斷代宋，為 Sunglin 收藏，展《The Sunglin Collection of Chinese Art and Archaeology》，Herberty J. Devine Galleries，紐約，1930年，編號H-923；亦見一遼代玉牌例，隨石形巧雕臥熊，內蒙古巴林右旗友愛村出土，現藏赤峰市博物館，展《Gilded Splendor. Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125)》，亞洲協會，2006年，編號78；再見兩例熊形飾，背面見相類穿孔，斷代遼至金，錄《中國古代玉器藝術》，卷2，北京，2004年，圖版214及215。