Page 68 - Robert Youngman Collection Of Chinese Jade March 2019 Sotheby's

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A YELLOW AND BROWN JADE ‘BIXIE’ CARVING
YUAN - MING DYNASTY
seated on its hind legs with the body raised on its forelegs, the powerful chest carved with reptilian ridges and sweeping upward into a long S-curved
neck, the ferocious face with bulging eyes, flared nostrils, and an open mouth revealing sharp fangs and a raised tongue, tufts of fur extending from
the chin and the crown of the head, fan-shaped wings with scalloped edges rising from the shoulders, flame scrolls emanating from each leg, a short
broad tail descending between the back heels, the stone a light yellow color streaked with dark brown veins and transmuting to an opaque beige hue
at the hind quarters
元至明 黃玉雕辟邪把件

Length 2¾ in., 7 cm
$ 20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE 來源
Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd., New York, 22nd May 1978. Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd.，紐約，1978年5月22日
LITERATURE 出版
Robert P. Youngman, The Youngman Collection of 羅伯特•楊門，《楊門藏玉：中國玉器·新石器時代至清代》，
Chinese Jades from Neolithic to Qing, Chicago, 2008, 芝加哥，2008年，圖版153
pl. 153.

This bixie is deftly carved with a dramatic profile that emphasizes the power and mystique of the mythical creature. The balanced composition
makes use of the natural variegation in the stone. The curvilinear openwork front and upper sections of the body are carved from the
translucent yellow passages of the stone, with the light color heightening the sense of the animal’s agility and ability to fly, while the solid
rear portion of the bixie is carved from the darker, densely toned section of the stone to enhance the impression of the beast’s heft and might.
The dark brown vein tracing the muscular contour of the left shoulder similarly accentuates the animal’s brawn.
A white jade carving of a mythical beast with similar wings, face, fangs, and stance was excavated from a Yuan dynasty site in Xi’an in
1978 and illustrated in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji [The Complete Compilation of Chinese Jades], vol. 2, Shijiazhuang, 2005, pl.
196. Compare also a Yuan dynasty white and russet jade qilin with a similar elongated S-curved neck, size, and bodily contours vis-à-vis the
present example, exhibited in Jades from China, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, 1994, cat. no. 261, and a Ming dynasty white jade
carving of a mythical beast with a similar profile from the Chang Shuo Studio Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th April 2017,
lot 3301. The articulation of the body and the execution of the flame scrolls also compare favorably to a Yuan dynasty white and brown
crouching mythical beast from the Speelman Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd April 2018; and a Ming dynasty white jade
carving of a mythical beast from the Zhirouzhai Collection sold our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2008, lot 2316.

66 SOTHEBY’S