A RARE STONE FISH-FORM PENDANT LATE SHANG DYNASTY OR LATER |

the elongated form tapering toward the upper and lower edges, the fish incised with circular eyes, abstract curved gills, and short lines defining the scales and fins, its flat mouth pierced with a small aperture

Collection of Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941), no. 9896.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

There is a small chip to the head of the fish and another tiny chip to the tip of its tail. Otherwise, the pendant is in general good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Fish-form pendants of this type made of stone are extremely rare, and no other examples appear to be published. The depiction of fish scales on the present lot is also a rare feature. Only a small group of pendants with the same feature appear to be recorded, including two jade examples excavated from the Fu Hao's tomb in Henan province, published in Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, pl. CXLVI, fig. 2; one dated Western Zhou dynasty, excavated in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, published in Yang Boda, ed., Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese jades], vol. 1, Shijiazhuang, 2005, no. 260; and another, modeled in a arched form, from the S.H. Minkenhof Collection, published in H.F.E. Visser, Asiatic Art in Private Collections of Holland and Belgium, New York, 1952, pl. 56. For related examples without the carved scales, see two jade pendants attributed to the Shang dynasty, in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, published in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 138; a Zhou dynasty example, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Desmond Gure, exhibited in Mostra d'arte cinese [Exhibition of Chinese art], Venice, 1954, cat. no. 181; and a pair, from the collection of Frau E. Rosenheim, included in the exhibition Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst [Exhibition of Chinese Art], Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 194.