Page 338 - 2020 Sept Important Chinese Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Important Chinese Art | Sotheby's

Impo rtant Chinese Art
New York |23 Sep 2020 | 09:00 AM EDT

Lot 739

A RARE LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A DOG, SONG DYNASTY
Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 USD

A RARE LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A DOG
SONG DYNASTY
宋 木漆臥犬擺件

the recumbent animal with its head turned slightly to the right, the front paws crossed with flame wisps emanating from the
forelegs, the face with a gentle expression and long rounded snout framed by a pair of floppy ears and above a collar around the
neck, the elegant and naturalistic carving emphasizing the bony ribs and curved ridged spine terminating in the long tail curled to
one side, the details lacquered red, 'huanghuali' wood stand (2)

Length 6¾ in., 17.3 cm

Catalogue Note
Most extant examples of wood lacquered sculpture from the Song dynasty are of Buddhist figures, and it is rare to find figures of
animals such as the present. The presence of flame wisps, together with the dog's bony frame, may suggest a mythical or
transcendental nature.

In its naturalistic and refined carving, this piece draws many similarities with contemporaneous depictions of dogs in other media.
See a Song dynasty jade figure of a recumbent dog, wearing a bell collar and also with pronounced ribs and spine, exhibited in
Jades from China, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, 1994, cat. no. 238. Another from the British Museum is illustrated
in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26.10. For related ceramic examples, see a
pottery 'dog' figure from a set of twelve zodiac animals, attributed to the Song/Yuan dynasty and sold twice in these rooms; the

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