The sale “Beast of Antiquity” will be held on 6 April offering 35 jade carvings from the Chang Shou Studio, a Hong Kong collector. Animal-shaped, part of them comes from the later archaic golden era of the Han dynasty.

The top lot is a white jade figure of a bixie of the Western Han dynasty rendered semi-recumbent with the head turned backwards. The bixie is an ancient mythical animal. Tales say that it is the son of the dragon king and has an appetite for gold and precious jewelry, so it is a symbol of nobleness and wealth; while in “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”, it is described as a fierce and powerful guardian which can ward off evil spirits.

Vernacular carving technique is adopted for this figure, allowing it to be three-dimensional beyond engraving.

The second and the third expensive lots are a celadon jade figure of an elephant and a white and russet jade figure of a bear. Like the bixie figure, these two lots also date back to the Western Han dynasty.

 Top Lots

AN EXCEPTIONAL AND POWERFULLY CARVED WHITE JADE FIGURE OF A BIXIE
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY

Lot: 3311
Size: 9.5 cm
Estimate: HK$6,000,000-8,000,000

AN OUTSTANDING AND EXTREMELY RARE CELADON JADE FIGURE OF AN ELEPHANT
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY

Lot: 3305
Size: 8.4 cm
Estimate: HK$5,000,000-7,000,000

A SUPERBLY CARVED AND EXTREMELY RARE WHITE AND RUSSET JADE FIGURE OF A BEAR
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY

Lot: 3317
Size: 7.3 cm
Estimate: HK$5,000,000-7,000,000

Sale Details

Auction House: Sotheby's Hong Kong
Sale: Beasts of Antiquity – Important Jade Animals from the Chang Shou Studio
Sale No.: HK0725
Lots: 35
Viewing:
2017/3/31  10am-5:30pm
2017/4/1-2  10am-8pm
2017/4/3-4  10am-6:30pm
Sale Time: 2017/4/5  11:45am