This beautifully polished Jade stone is finely carved in the form of recumbent pig with a flat snout and pointed ears. It is decorated with deep, slanting grooves that encompass the front and rear legs, which are neatly tucked underneath the body. Its deep, silky celadon-colored body is carefully marked with hints of brow, offering the perfect balance of contrasting hues. Jade carvings of pigs rendered with bold angular cuts and in reclining poses were made throughout the Han and Six Dynasties period and form an important group of jade carvings that were used both in daily life and for burial. Han Dynasty 206 BC - AD 220.
For A Similar Elongated Pig: Christie's New York - The Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part III - Chinese Works Of Art: Qing Ceramics, Glass And Jade Carvings - March 19, 2015 - Sale #11420, Lot #595 Which Realized $35,000USD.
Lot Description
A PALE GREYISH-GREEN JADE FIGURE OF A PIG
CHINA, HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 220)
The rounded rectangular block carved with flat snout and deep slanting grooves delineating the body, with a tiny hole drilled through the base of the tail, the stone of even color with satiny polish
4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm.) long
For A Similar Pair Of Elongated Pigs: Christie's New York - The Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part III - Chinese Works Of Art: Qing Ceramics, Glass And Jade Carvings - March 19, 2015 - Sale #11420, Lot #588 Which Realized $56,250USD.
Lot Description
TWO PALE GREYISH-GREEN JADE FIGURES OF PIGS
CHINA, HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-1ST CENTURY BC
Each of rounded rectangular form carved as a recumbent pig with flat snout above a small tab similar to the tail, the details of the body delineated by deep slanting grooves, those for the legs also detailed on the base, one with fine russet markings throughout and finely polished, the other with softer polish and some russet markings
4 ¾ in. (12 cm.) long, box
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For Another Similar Pair Of Elongated Pigs:
Sotheby's Hong Kong - June 1 and 2, 2017 - Lot #309:
A RARE PAIR OF CELADON JADE 'PIG' CARVINGS
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY
each modelled as a stylised recumbent pig with boldly defined details, pierced under the snout and tail with a small hole, the lustrously polished stone with calcified areas
10.6 cm, 4 1/4 in. Price Realized $120,637 USD
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Catalogue Note
Jade carvings of pigs rendered with bold angular cuts and in reclining poses were made throughout the Han and Six Dynasties period and form an important group of jade carvings that were used both in daily life and for burial. Made in the so-called Han badao ('Han eight cuts') style, whereby the design is created by a small number of deep cuts, jade pigs of this type are known with perforations that run from below the snout through the tail ridge, or pierced under the snout and on the tail, such as the present pair. Although the function of these jade pigs remains a matter of speculation, numerous examples were found in burial sites, often held in the hands of the diseased.
Similarly carved jade pigs excavated from Han dynasty tombs include a pair unearthed from Tomb 104 at Baonudun, Hanjiang, Jiangsu province, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, Beijing, 2005, vol. 7, pl. 141; one from Youxiangxincun, Huayin, Shaanxi province, illustrated ibid., vol. 14, pl. 170, together with a pair from the northern suburbs of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, pl. 169, and one from Hongmiaopo, Xi'an, pl. 168; and a further pig from Tomb 1 at Dongyuan, Bozhou, Anhui province, published ibid., vol. 6, pl. 153. Compare also jade carvings of pigs in private collections, such as six pairs from the Yang-te-t'ang and Piao-te-Hsuan collections, included in the Collectors' Exhibition of Archaic Chinese Jades, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1995, cat. nos 84-86 and 88-90; a pig from the Bei Shan Tang collection, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 121; another included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 15; and a further example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pl. 73.
For A Similar Elongated Pig: Christie's Hong Kong - November 29, 2017: Lot #2780
A JADE PIG
EASTERN HAN DYNASTY (AD 25-220)
The well-polished stone is carved in the round as a recumbent pig with a flat snout and pointed ears. It is decorated with deep, slanting grooves that delineate the front and rear legs which are tucked underneath the body. The stone is of a celadon and russet colour with traces of calcification.
4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm.) long, box
Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 280,000/USD 23,183 - USD 36,063
For Another Similar Example:
Cleveland Museum Of Art
Pig
1045-256 BC
China, Zhou dynasty
(c. 1046-256 BC)
Jade
Overall: 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Worcester R. Warner Collection 1917.52
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For Another Similar Example:
Christie's New York - March 18, 2009 - Fine Chinese Art from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections
LOT 316
A GREENISH-WHITE AND BROWN JADE FIGURE OF A PIG
HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-1ST CENTURY BC
A GREENISH-WHITE AND BROWN JADE FIGURE OF A PIG
HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-1ST CENTURY BC
The rounded rectangular block carved as a recumbent pig with flat snout, with deep slanting grooves delineating the ears, the front and rear legs and the small tail which is drilled through its base, the pale greenish-white stone imbued with warm color from the brownish areas which may be a result of alteration
4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm.) long
Provenance
Diedrich-Abbes Collection, 1959.
Literature and exhibited
Exhibited
The Columbia University Exhibition of Three Thousand Years of the Ceramic Art and Ancient Sculpture of China from the Sackler Collections, Low Memorial Library, New York, 1962.
Estimate
USD 2,000 - USD 3,000 Price realised
USD 50,000
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