WHITE JADE WITH RUSSET SKIN CARVING OF A SEATED BEAR
HAN DYNASTY OR LATER
£12,600
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 4 November 2022 from 10:00 GMT
Description
漢或以後 白玉帶皮雕坐熊擺件
carved in seated pose with front paws supporting upper body, left front limb charged forward with body and face slightly turned left, alerted bulging eyes, pricked ears, strong jaw incised with details, the stone of white colour with russet patches and lines
Dimensions
7.8cm high
Provenance
Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Adrianus Cornelis Maria Verhelst (b. 26th February 1955), The Netherlands.
Footnote
Note: The relaxed posture and playful attitude resembles the Ellsworth bear, a gilt-bronze seated bear dated to the Western Han dynasty (206BC-8AD) and was in the collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth and sold at Christie's New York, 17th March 2015, lot 1. Such relaxed naturalism in the asymmetrical pose, informal manner and somewhat whimsical presentation finds in an antecedent of a small jade bear in Harvard’s Grenville L. Winthrop Collection (object no.1943.50.310) that dates to the Warring States period (475 BC–221 BC).