Page 437 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

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PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 宋 黃玉羊頭杖首

A YELLOW AND RUSSET JADE 來源：
‘RAM’S HEAD’ FINIAL Harry Weinrebe 收藏，1962年購於香港中
SONG DYNASTY 易公司
倫敦蘇富比2002年6月18日，編號143
with a cylindrical socket at the base of the beast’s
neck, the head of the animal with a pronounced
snout and a pair of alert eyes, further rendered
with two elongated curved horns curling inwards
below the ears, the stone of a celadon-tinged
yellow colour with attractive russet skin, wood
stand
5.8 cm, 2¼ in.

PROVENANCE

Collection of Harry Weinrebe, acquired from Jade
House, Hong Kong in 1962.
Christie’s London, 18th June 2002, lot 143.

HK$ 350,000-450,000
US$ 44,800-58,000

This carving is notable for its naturalism, the
refined features of which have been skilfully
modelled in the round. The softness of the
features complement the filial piety that the
ram represents, which is accentuated in the
yellow pebble from which it has been formed.
Comparable treatment of the carving include a
figure of a ram, attributed to the Yuan or early
Ming period, from the collection of Mr and Mrs
Paul Toller, included in the Oriental Ceramic
Society exhibition Chinese Jade Throughout the
Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1975,
cat. no. 262; and another from the collection of
Victor Shaw, included in the exhibition Chinese
Jades from Han to Ch’ing, Asia House Gallery,
New York, 1980, cat. no. 45.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 435