£5,000
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art | 682
Auction: 13 May 2022 at 11:00 BST
西漢 白玉雕鳩杖首
carved in the round as a turtledove with a long beak and looking backwards, the body finely carved in low relief with feathered wings, the flattened base carved with a circle and two apertures for fitting onto staff, the translucent white stone with a slight green tinge and russet inclusions
Note: a closely comparable example, also dated to the Western Han dynasty, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, no. 購玉 270