Page 203 - Christie's Leisurely Life May 29, 2019 Hong Kong

PROPERTY FROM THE QUEK KIOK LEE COLLECTION
3035
A CELADON JADE TAPIR
QING DYNASTY, 18TH DYNASTY
The tapir is well carved, standing foursquare with its head facing forward and ears pricked.
Its tail is flicked slightly upward and the area around the muzzle raised. The stone is of a
greyish-celadon tone with some minor areas of pale russet mottled inclusions.
4 º in. (10.7 cm.) wide
HK$120,000-180,000 US$16,000-23,000
Jade carvings of tapirs are exceptionally rare. Its form is based on ancient prototypes
from the Zhou dynasty tapir-form bronze vessel. An example of this is the tapir-
form zun dated to the Western Zhou period, which was excavated in 1975 in Baoji
county, Jiangsu province and is now in the Baoji Municipal Museum and illustrated
in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua dacidian, Qingtongjuan, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 460, p.
133. The tapir is a native animal of Southeast Asia, but in ancient China, particularly
during the Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BC), it was regarded as an auspicious
legendary creature believed to consume people’s nightmares.

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㛖ݐ◶Ⅷ⻦

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