Page 46 - Bonhams, The H Collection, Classical Chinese Furniture, May 13, 2021 London

(underside)

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A RARE PALE GREEN AND RUSSET JADE ‘MYTHICAL BIRD’ During the Han dynasty, weights of similar shape to the present
SCROLL WEIGHT example were made of precious materials such as jade or gilt-bronze
Tianji Wenbao incised four-character mark, 18th century and likely made for use by high-ranking members of society. In this
The domed weight finely carved as a mythical bird with a single crest context, these weights were usually produced in sets of four, each in
and pointed beak, on a circular base with its wings outstretched as if the shape of a human figure or a mythical animal or bird representing
ready for flight, the slightly-flared wings flanking a bulbous body, the one of the four Directions of the Universe. The Red Bird depicted
long tail feathers elegantly curled in various directions, all meticulously on the present lot represented South and would have been used in
incised with well-defined feathers suggesting vivid movement, the conjunction with the White Tiger symbolising West, the Green Dragon
base incised with a four-character ‘Tianji Wenbao’ mark within a dense of the East and the Black Tortoise of the North. Sitting at the centre
ground of C-scrolls, the smoothly-polished stone of pale-green tone of a cosmic diagram signified being the pivot and recipient of all the
with beige and russet inclusions. forces of the universe, symbolic of the Chinese emperors.
6.1cm (2 3/8in) diam.
The present lot is closely related to a line drawing of a bronze weight in
£20,000 - 30,000 the shape of a mythical bird, Han dynasty, published in the ‘Catalogue
CNY180,000 - 270,000 of Ancient Ritual Bronzes’ Xiqing Gujian Xiqing gujian, vol.38, p.46.
This collection of drawings served as a source of inspiration for the
production of contemporary objects, underscoring the emperor’s wish
十八世紀 朱雀玉鎮 to reinstate what he believed to be the intrinsic qualities of simplicity,
「天雞文寶」刻款 sincerity and happy exuberance found in the ancient past; see Chang
Li-Tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic
Provenance: and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.49-50.
An important European private collection
The inscription incised on the underside of the present lot, Tianji
來源： Wenbao, reflects the 18th century trend of paying homage to the
歐洲重要私人收藏 historical past, as it literally translates as ‘Mythical Bird Cultural Treasure’.

The present lot is an outstanding example inspired by an earlier design A gilt-bronze weight similarly shaped as a mythical bird curling above
dating to the Han dynasty. This rhythmically-carved bird is remarkable a circular base is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, acc.no.
for its intricate relief decoration in various depths, displaying 000333N. Compare with a related exceptionally rare jade mythical-bird
exceptional technique in carving the naturalistic and three-dimensional scroll weight, Han dynasty, illustrated by T.Fok, The Splendour of Jade:
rendering of the jade bird. The Songzhutang Collection of Jade, Hong Kong, 2011, pl.74, which
was later sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 May 2017, lot 54.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
44 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.