Page 14 - Christie's Fine Jade the LZJ Collection NYC September 21, 2023
P. 14

804                                                                                                                    805

            A WHITE JADE FIGURE OF A RECUMBENT RAM                             宋 白玉臥羊                                              AN UNUSUAL INSCRIBED PALE YELLOWISH-GREEN JADE                     南宋 明初 十̾至十ω世㈵ 
            SONG DYNASTY (AD 960-1279)                                                                                             CARVING OF A RAM EMERGING FROM A PEBBLE                            黃青玉雕「द石成羊」把Ы
                                                                               Ϝ源
            The ram is shown with the legs tucked underneath the body and the two long horns swept   安思遠(         )
 紐☼            SOUTHERN SONG-EARLY MING DYNASTY, 13TH-15TH CENTURY                Ϝ源
                                                                               "OUIPOZ $BSUFS
 і敦
     年 月  日                                                                                         安思遠(         )
 紐☼
            backwards, with the back of the beard pierced with a single hole. The stone is of an even                              The carving is formed as a ram with backswept horns springing forth from a heart-shaped
                                                                               -+;珍藏
 美४                                                                                                              "OUIPOZ $BSUFS
 і敦
     年 月  日
            white tone with some opaque mottling.                                                                                  pebble. The side of the pebble is inscribed with two characters in seal script reading chi shi.  -+;珍藏
 美४
                                                                               ֨ḛ
            1¬ in. (4.1 cm.) long                                                                                                  1æ in. (4.5 cm.) long
                                                                               "  $BSUFS
 Ǘ5IF -+; $PMMFDUJPO PG                                                                                      ֨ḛ
            $15,000-25,000                                                     $IJOFTF +BEFTǘ
 і敦
     年
 頁     
                  $15,000-25,000                                                     "  $BSUFS
 Ǘ5IF -+; $PMMFDUJPO PG
                                                                               編號                                                                                                                     $IJOFTF +BEFTǘ
 і敦
     年
 頁
                                                                                                                                                                                                      編號
            PROVENANCE:
                                                                                                                                   PROVENANCE:
            Robert H. Ellsworth (1929-2014), New York.                                                                             Robert H. Ellsworth (1929-2014), New York.
            Anthony Carter, London, 29 March 2004.                                                                                 Anthony Carter, London, 29 March 2004.
            The LJZ Collection, United States.                                                                                     The LJZ Collection, United States.
            LITERATURE:
                                                                                                                                   LITERATURE:
            A. Carter, The LJZ Collection of Chinese Jades, London, 2022, pp. 36-37, no. 13.                                       A. Carter, The LJZ Collection of Chinese Jades, London, 2022, pp. 38-39, no. 14.

                                                                                                                                   The two-character inscription on the underside of the present carving, chi shi, is shortened
                                                                                                                                   from the idiom chi shi cheng yang, which literally means to “scold” a rock to transfigure into
                                                                                                                                   a ram. Originally derived from an essay written by the Tang-dynasty scholar-official Gu
                                                                                                                                   Yun, the phrase refers to a mystical or miraculous transformation.    (inscription)

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