A jade animal-shaped plaque, Late Eastern Zhou - Western Han dynasty, 3rd - 2nd century BC | 東周末至西漢公元前三至二世紀 玉瑞獸珮飾

Artistic Sources Arts Co., Hong Kong, 5th August 1992.

藝源閣，香港，1992年8月5日

Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 17:13.

羅森，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，圖版17:13

British Museum, London, on loan, 1995 and 2002-15.

大英博物館，倫敦，借展，1995及2002-15年

The present piece, ingeniously modelled as a fantastic horned animal in profile, is a tour de force of jade craftsmanship of the late Eastern Zhou dynasty. It captures the power of the animal through its large head, strong fangs, and powerful legs terminating in sharp claws. Through dynamic contours, meticulously incised curves and subtle bevelling, the artisan transformed the thin jade plaque and successfully portrayed the muscularity of the beast.

It belongs to a fascinating group of exquisitely carved and finely polished animal plaques made in the Eastern Zhou period. These plaques were part of larger ornamental assemblages that included numerous pendants connected by a silk rope and suspended from a belt worn on or above the waist. While they have been recovered in burial contexts, they were not considered tomb goods but rather treasured personal belongings that the deceased would have worn in his lifetime. When walking, the plaques would gently knock each other, producing a tinkling sound that "signified physical and moral elegance and restraint, admired qualities in Confucian circles" (Jenny F. So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 2019, pp. 188-9). 

This type of jade ornaments is generally referred to as 'tiger plaques'. With a horn on its forehead, a broad arc-shaped snout and a bulging neck, Regina Krahl argued that such an animal "differs markedly from the usual depictions of tigers and dragons" but shows the characteristics of rhinoceros ('The Vignier Jade Pendant: A 'Tiger Plaque' with Rhinoceros Features', Important Chinese Art, Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 3rd April 2019, lot 3620).

See three comparable pairs of 'tiger plaques' with rhinoceros features: a larger pair in the Cleveland Museum of Art, detailed with raised bosses on the bodies and stylised dragons on their haunches, is published in J. Keith Wilson, 'A Pair of Chinese Jade Plaques', The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 80, no. 4, April 1993, pp. 127-30, cover and fig. 1; another pair, also with raised swirls, reputedly from Jincun, Luoyang, Henan province, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., is included in the exhibition Chinese Art of the Warring States Period. Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C., Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1982, cat. no. 96; and the third pair of swirl-decorated plaques from the Winthrop collection in the Harvard Art Museum is illustrated in Max Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1975, pl. 438. A further single jade plaque, much larger in size and its body detailed with swirls and zoomorphic motifs, similarly inscribed on the edge with two characters, formerly in the collection of Charles Vignier, was sold in these rooms, 3rd April 2019, lot 3620, from the Sam and Myrna Myers collection.

A smaller arced jade pendant in the shape of a rhinoceros with bosses was excavated from the tomb of Zhao Mo, who ruled from 137-122 BC, during the Western Han dynasty, as King of Nanyue in the far south; see Zhongguo chutu yuqi quanji/The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, Beijing, 2005, vol. 11, pls 81 and 123. 

獸形玉珮，造型簡練有力，雕琢精妙卓絕，巨首尖牙、強肌利爪，配以流利線條，曲直之間，勾勒猛獸懾人姿態，展示東周玉雕工藝發展之高。獸身細琢陰刻，滿富韻律感，浮雕紋飾隱約，日下觀之，和光微泛，突顯異獸矯健。 

同類東周獸形珮，琢磨細緻，設計流暢簡約，精練脫俗，無冗贅之處，寥寥數筆已明確捕捉神獸氣韻。當時貴族用此類玉件作組珮，繫以絲線，或為項鍊、或從腰帶懸下。類例雖多見於出土，但如此尊貴之物反映墓主的地位權勢，應是生前所戴佩，非尋常墓葬用器。古籍記載君子佩玉，行走時玉石相碰，發出清脆聲響，雅逸之餘內歛含蓄，符合儒家君子之度（蘇芳淑，《Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums》，劍橋，2019年，頁188-9）。

此類玉珮上之獸，一般多稱曰虎，但此珮瑞獸前額尖角，鼻頭寬厚，上下以銳弧收尾，不似其他虎形或龍形珮之尖鼻或鼻頭上卷，而且肩脖厚實突出，突顯大型動物魁武姿態，為犀牛之特點（康蕊君，〈維涅舊藏獸形珮〉，《中國藝術珍品》，蘇富比，香港，2019年4月3日，編號3620）。

參考三件博物館藏狀似犀牛之珮：克利夫蘭藝術博物館藏一對，尺寸較大，細綴穀紋，腿上細線陰刻簡化勾卷龍紋，見 J. Keith Wilson，〈A Pair of Chinese Jade Plaques〉，《The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art》，第80期4號（1993年4月），頁127-130，並刊於此書封面及圖1；華盛頓弗利爾美術館也藏一對例，傳出自河南省洛陽金村，展出於《Chinese Art of the Warring States Period. Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C.》，弗利爾美術館，華盛頓，1982年，編號96；麻州劍橋佛格藝術博物館藏也有一對，錄於羅樾，《Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University》，劍橋，1975年，圖版438。另可比較查爾．維涅、森美與瑪娜邁爾斯伉儷遞藏玉珮，尺寸尤碩，獸身綴穀紋及陰刻龍鳳紋，沿邊上刻兩字，同樣未能辨識，2019年4月3日經香港蘇富比拍出，編號3620。

廣東省廣州象崗西漢南越王趙眜（公元前137-122年在位）之墓出土一件類似玉雕，尺寸較小，見《中國出土玉器全集》，北京，2005年，卷11，圖版81、123。