AN EXTREMELY RARE IMPERIAL ZITAN FIGURE OF A BEAR QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

substantially carved in the round as a bear seated on its haunches with the head lifted upwards, depicted with a characteristic tapering and flat-fronted snout, the mouth rendered slightly agape and revealing its clenched teeth, further accentuated with round alert eyes and small funnel-form ears, the beast realistically portrayed with taut muscles and prominent spinal column terminating in a short tail, the forelegs extended before the body with curved paws as though supporting something, covered overall with incised short streaks simulating a hairy body, the surface smoothly and well patinated to a dark brown colour

The bear is in overall good condition. Both arms and its right leg were carved from separate pieces of zitan wood. There are some expected small chips to the extremities, especially to its ears and right eyelid, as well as typical age cracks and associated losses, some refilled, such as one strip to its right haunch (visible in the catalogue illustration p. 153).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This extraordinary zitan sculpture of a bear is of exceptional size and quality. Such extravagant use of precious material, carved in a consciously archaistic style, strongly suggests it is a unique work of the Qianlong period, created in the Palace Workshops for the pleasure of the Emperor.

The bear is depicted in a highly unusual position, seated on its haunches with its head raised high and turned to the right, looking upwards but keeping its forelegs and hands tense as though supporting something. From the Western Han dynasty onwards, bears were represented in bronze both as free-standing sculptures and as highly decorative parts of larger ritual vessels. These free-standing sculptures of bears are likely to have been made in sets of four, used as opulent mat weights. Examples include two near-identical gilt-bronze bears, the first from the collection of Senator Hugh Scott, Washington, included in the exhibition Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Gilt Bronzes from the Wessen and Other Collections, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1980, cat. no. 22, the second from the collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold at Christie’s New York, 17th March 2015, lot 1. In both figures, the bear is depicted in an unusual posture, with hand raised to scratch its ear.

The use of a bear as a design element, one of the feet that supports an elaborate Han vessel, can be seen on an inlaid gilt-bronze vessel in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the exhibition catalogue Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth. Chinese Jades through the Ages, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2011, cat. no. 7-3-10. The shape of the vessel is highly dynamic, showing the bear poised, bristling with energy, holding a ball in one hand. It was so admired by the Qianlong Emperor that it is recorded how he personally ordered an exact copy to be made in wood, and sent to Suzhou as a model for a jade copy. The successful jade zun vessel, of superlative quality and very close to the bronze prototype, is now also in the National Palace Museum, illustrated ibid, cat. no. 7-3-9.

Unlike the Han bronze prototypes, designed as feet or supports for larger vessels, the current bear is deliberately modelled in a very specific position, the legs poised with a curl, the paws clenched with space to support something. It is impossible to be precise, and no other comparable example appears to be published, but it may well be that it was created by Imperial order as a magnificent support for an emblem, possibly a Buddhist emblem, or some type of tributary figure. Such models do exist, such as the pairs of zitan and ivory foreigners depicted holding cloisonné enamel Buddhist emblems. One such pair, from the collection of H.M. Queen Mary, consort of King George V, included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Art, London, 1935, cat. no. 2314, was sold in our London rooms, 14th November 2001, lot 129.