A LARGE YELLOW AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF A MYTHICAL BEAST, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

來源

史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）收藏

Outstanding for the playful yet dynamic rendering of the mythical beast and its impressive size, this carving successfully captures the supernatural vitality of the creature. The notched spine and muscular body which is poised as though ready for action, along with the pronounced eyes and curled features such as its beard, tail and ears, display the technical expertise of its carver. Highly tactile in its smooth finish and impeccably modeled in the round, this carving would have been particularly favored by the jade connoisseur.

The development of sculptures of mythical creatures occurred during the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) when they began to appear in large numbers in durable materials, such as stone and jade. They were placed along the path to, and inside, tombs to pacify the elemental and supernatural forces of the world. This tradition further flourished during the Six Dynasties when immense fabulous beasts drawn from the spiritual world were produced on a grand scale outside the tombs near Nanjing. Simultaneously, an artistic tradition of creating jade animals of this type, but on a smaller scale, emerged. In contrast to the earlier two-dimensional jade carvings made for the afterlife or to adorn the individual, these creatures were modelled in the round as artistic objects and to provide the owner with a constant and concrete realization of the powerful supernatural forces in the world. As a result, carvings of mythical creatures continued to abound throughout Chinese history, of which the present is an exquisite example.

A number of carvings of recumbent mythical creatures rendered in a similar stylized manner include a closely related example, but with the head turned, published in Compendium of the Cultural Relics in the Collection of the Summer Palace, Beijing, 2018, pp 98-99 (fig. 1); and a smaller forward-facing version, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, included in Denise Leidy et. al., 'Chinese Decorative Arts', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 1997, p. 25.

Compare also the exaggerated facial features and body of a jade mythical creature, in the Qing Court Collection and still in Beijing, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware III, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 93; another, attributed to the Ming period, published in Jadewares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 173, together with a seated version, pl. 172; another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd June 2015, lot 3188; and another, from the Muwen Tang Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st December 2016, lot 38.

本品黃玉擺件，瑞獸形象靈動如生，尺寸碩大，脊柱凹凸起伏有致，肌理分明，如箭在弦，隨時準備躍動，雙眼炯炯有神，獸鬚、尾、耳等各處細緻無不展示玉匠卓藝。此擺件打磨光潤，圓雕技法高超，必為識玉者鍾愛。

瑞獸造像，發展於漢代，多見於石刻或玉雕等材質。石獸多置於陵道旁邊，供奉天地神明，此傳統於六朝期間發展更盛，南京陵墓前，守護靈獸造像尺寸碩大，氣勢懾人。同時期尺寸較小之相近玉雕瑞獸亦開始出現，漸成傳統，而且以立體圓雕為主，與早期玉雕多為平面造型形成對比，意為物主展示宇宙天地之超自然力量。因此，自古以來瑞獸雕像製作不斷，本品正屬臻例。

可比較一黃玉瑞獸例，風格造型與本品極近，但作顧首狀，載於《頤和園藏文物大系•玉器卷I》，北京，2018年，頁98至99（圖一）。另見一相類例，藏於紐約大都會藝術博物館，獸首前望，載於Denise Leidy 等，〈Chinese Decorative Arts〉，《The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin》，1997年夏，頁25。

再可參考一瑞獸例，清宮舊藏，現存北京故宮博物院，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集•玉器（下）》，香港， 1995年，圖版93；另一例斷代明，載於《天津博物館藏玉》，北京，2012年，圖版173，同書並載另一坐像例，圖版172；亦見一例，售於香港佳士得2015年6月3日，編號3188；再比一例，出自沐文堂收藏，售於香港蘇富比2016年12月1日，編號38。