Page 70 - Sotheby's Part I Collection of Sir Joeseph Hotung Collection CHINESE ART , Oct. 9, 2022

185 186
ဏ ͗ A CELADON AND RUSSET JADE CICADA, ਠ ᖕ A JADE 'ANIMAL MASK' PENDANT,
ᔤ HAN DYNASTY Ї ࠦ SHANG - WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

modelled in the form of a stylised cicada with convex sides, finely incised with concise strokes denoting the eyes, folded wings and Г ७ the curved animal head depicted with prominent bottle horns, incised with stylized facial features, perforated through the base to the
ribbed abdomen, perforated with two small apertures to the top edge մ ͗ plain convex back
6.4 by 3.1 cm 2.9 by 2.2 by 1 cm
भ
PROVENANCE Ը๕j PROVENANCE Ը๕j
R.H. Ellsworth Ltd, New York, 20th August 1986. τܠჃdॲߒd1986ϋ8˜20˚ Collection of Mr and Mrs William and Charlotte McKim, Palm William ʿ Charlotte McKim ͸ᙨϗᔛdಅᖈᛉdНᖯԢ༺ψ
Beach, Florida.
EXHIBITED ࢝ᚎj Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, no. 173, label. Bluett & Sons Ltddࡐ౱dᅺᜀᇜ໮173
British Museum, London, on loan, 1995. ॲߒᘽబˢ1979ϋ11˜2˚dᇜ໮31
ɽߵ௹ي᎜dࡐ౱d࠾࢝d1995ϋ Sotheby's New York, 2nd November 1979, lot 31.
LITERATURE ࢝ᚎj
̈وj EXHIBITED
Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades, Norton Gallery of Art, An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades‘dፕ཭ߕஔ᎜d
London, 1995, pl. 24:8. ᖯಌdChinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing‘d ГಅᖈᛉdНᖯԢ༺ψd1950ϋ
ࡐ౱d1995ϋdྡو24:8 West Palm Beach, Florida, 1950. ʕ਷͗ᎉ‘d࠰ಥᖵஔ᎜d࠰ಥd1983ϋ
HK$ 20,000-30,000 Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong,
1983. ɽߵ௹ي᎜dࡐ౱d࠾࢝d1995ϋ
US$ 2,550-3,850
British Museum, London, on loan, 1995. ̈وj
LITERATURE An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades, arranged for Norton
An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades, arranged for Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida‘dጅٿᓈdॲߒd
Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, C.T. Loo, inc., New York, 1950ϋdྡوXXII:12
1950, pl. XXII:12. ໢່dʕ਷͗ᎉ‘d࠰ಥᖵஔ᎜d࠰ಥd1983ϋdᇜ໮35
Ip Yee, Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 35. ᖯಌdChinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing‘dࡐ౱d
Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, 1995ϋdࠫ272dྡو12:18
London, 1995, pl. 12:18.

HK$ 60,000-80,000
US$ 7,700-10,200

The production of small jade animal motif carvings blossomed in
the late Shang period around the time of Fu Hao (c. 1200 BC).
The bloom could have been inspired by Neolithic pieces, according
to Jessica Rawson, as evident by the famous phoenix plaque from
Shijiahe culture (c. 2500-2000 BC) unearthed in the tomb of Fu
Hao, among numerous Shang dynasty jade animal carvings (The
Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 5: Henan,
Beijing, 2005, pl. 30). The similarities in decoration between jade
animal carvings and bronzes, especially those with exotic zoomorphic
motifs from Dayangzhou in Jiangxi, however, suggest another
possible connection (see Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the
Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 205-208).
The facial features and the incised details of the present animal mask
indicate a stronger relationship with Shang dynasty bronzes than with
Neolithic precedents. Compare two related jade carvings excavated
from Xiaotun, Anyang, and exhibited in King Wu Ding and Lady Hao:
Art and Culture of the Late Shang Dynasty, Taipei, 2011, cat. no. IV-1,
a celadon jade ornament for the handle of an arrow case, and cat. no.
IV-1, a set of horse bridle ornaments including two jade animal masks.
See also two jade ‘animal head’ carvings illustrated in Jessica Rawson,
op.cit., nos 12:16-12:17. The former, probably reworked from a section
of a cong, is similarly decorated with features reminiscent of Shang
bronzes, but with protruding flanges on either side. See also a small
jade carving of a bovine head from the tomb of Fu Hao, published in
The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, op.cit., pl. 95.

138 I FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUING ༉းྡ፽ʫ࢙ሗᓭᚎ SOTHEBYS.COM/HK1293 THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG I 139