Lot 135

LARGE CHINESE WHITE JADE 'DRAGON HEAD' FINIAL
MING DYNASTY






Auction: 15 May 2026 from 10:00 BST
Description
明 大型白玉雕龍首
of generous proportions, carved in high relief in the shape of a dragon head with raised stepped muzzle and two horns following a long fluttering mane, its bulging eyes underneath bushy eyebrows, the jade of milky white tone with a slight celadon tinge streaked with russet inclusions
Dimensions
29.5cm wide
Footnote
Possibly an architectural ornament, or a terminal fitting ornament for furnishings on carriages and sedans. A comparable jade finial in the form of a dragon head, Yuan dynasty, previously in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, now in the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, accession no. S1987.819; also see an exceptionally rare and highly important pale greyish-green jade carving of a dragon head, Tang dynasty, previously in the Stephen Junkunc, III (1904-1978) Collection, offered in Christie's New York, 13 Sep 2019, lot 830.
或爲建築裝飾,或爲車輿玉輅。一件可資比較的元代龍首形玉飾,曾屬亞瑟・M・賽克勒收藏,現藏於史密森尼國立亞洲藝術博物館,館藏編號 S1987.819;另可參見一件唐代玉龍首,曾屬史蒂芬・瓊肯克三世(1904–1978)收藏,上拍於2019年9月13日紐約佳士得拍賣,拍品830。





