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AN IMPORTANT AND RARE 'FU HAO TYPE' ALTERED WHITE JADE CARVING OF AN OWL, LATE SHANG DYNASTY
奥地利
2025年10月16日 开拍
拍品描述
Expert authentication: Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and confirms its authenticity and the dating above, noting the style of cutting, workmanship, thickness and quality of stone with decomposed areas indicating burial all suggest a dating to 1600-1100 BC. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A signed copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 27 February 2024, accompanies this lot. Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012).China, 13th-11th century BC. Finely carved in the round as an owl standing on its feet and tail, with the head held high and accentuated with a pair of raised round eyes and sharp hooked beak, the breast rendered rounded, further portrayed with a pair of wings curving to the back incised with stylized plumage. The back of the head is pierced at an angle with two holes connecting to each other. The opaque stone is now of a mottled white and creamy-beige tone with pale russet patches.Provenance: Victor Choi, Dragon Culture, Hong Kong, 2007. A private collection in New York, acquired from the above. Victor Choi is an important dealer, scholar, and impassioned collector of Chinese antiques and works of art based in Hong Kong, whose gallery Dragon Culture has been a fixture on Hollywood Road for decades. He has published several books, including the guide Collecting Chinese Antiquities in Hong Kong (2002) and Horses for Eternity (2007).Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. The stone with few natural fissures, some of which may have developed into tiny hairline cracks. Signs of prolonged burial and traces of weathering with associated tiny losses. Minor nicks here and there, some shallow surface scratches, and minuscule nibbling.Weight: 74.1 g Dimensions: Height 4.7 cmDepictions of owls feature prominently among the arts of the Shang dynasty. The bird's nocturnal and binocular vision and its binaural hearing and hunting skill were revered from the Neolithic period, when the earliest jade carvings of owls were made. The owl's terrifying screech would have fit the perception of abnormality in ritual and magic, and it is most likely that the bird played a significant role in Shang belief. It has been suggested that the mythical black bird (xuanniao) from which the Shang people were believed to have originated was in fact an owl. Alternatively, Sun Xinzhou has suggested that the mythical ancestor Di Jun (also known as Di Ku, Shun) can be identified with the owl deity protector of agriculture (Sun Xinzhou, 'Chixiao chongbai huaxia lishi wenming' [On the strigidae worship and historical civilization in China], Journal of Tianjin Normal University (Social Sciences), no. 5, 2004, pp 31-7).Owl carvings like the present lot are among the rarest jade artifacts from the Shang dynasty. A closely related example, with similar features, was discovered in the tomb of Lady Hao, dated to around 1200 BC, suggesting that this piece was likely created during the same period (see literature comparison).The Tomb of Fu Hao is an important archaeological site located at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang dynasty capital Yin, within modern-day Anyang in Henan Province, China. Discovered in 1976 by archaeologist Zheng Zhenxiang, the tomb was identified as the final resting place of Queen and military general Fu Hao, who died around 1200 BC. Fu Hao is believed to be the Lady Hao mentioned in oracle bone inscriptions by King Wu Ding and one of his many wives. The tomb contained an extraordinary array of artifacts, including 755 jade objects, which encompassed both contemporary Shang jades and older pieces from the Longshan, Liangzhu, Hongshan, and Shijiahe cultures. Notably, the Tomb of Fu Hao is the only Shang royal tomb discovered intact, with its contents undisturbed, likely due to its remote location, far from other known burial sites. This pristine condition has provided invaluable insights into Shang dynasty culture and the significance of jade in their ritual practices.Literature comparison: Jade owls were excavated from the Tomb of Fu Hao in modern-day Anyang, Henan province, and illustrated in The Jades from Yinxu, Beijing, 1981, no. 56 (465), together with a further related beaked bird with horns, pl. 134 no. 3. A bronze owl-shaped zun was also excavated from the tomb of Fu Hao.Auction result comparison: Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2020, lot 2716Price: HKD 687,500 or approx. EUR 81,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing: A white jade carving of an owl, Shang dynasty, c. 1600-1046 BCExpert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, motifs, and subject, with similar double-line grooves. Note the size (3.5 cm).Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3202 Price: HKD 4,620,000 or approx. EUR 594,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing : An important and rare celadon jade carving of an owl Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, motifs, and subject, with similar double-line grooves. Note the size (4.1 cm) different ears and beak.13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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拍品估价:1,500 - 3,000 欧元 起拍价格:1,500 欧元  买家佣金:

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