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A RARE AMETHYST BURIAL FIGURE OF A SNAKE, PROBABLY YUAN DYNASTY
奥地利
12月16日 晚上6点 开拍 /6天18小时
拍品描述

Description

A RARE AMETHYST BURIAL FIGURE OF A SNAKE, PROBABLY YUAN DYNASTY

China, circa 13th to 14th century. Seated upon an integral plinth, carved as a coiled snake poised upright with its hood expanded in an alert posture, the serpent’s sinuous body is rendered with remarkable precision, the coiling folds accentuated by diamond-shaped scale patterns, the head, subtly raised, is carved with well-defined eyes and a gently open mouth.

Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired in Paris in the 1990s. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, commensurate with age. Tiny nicks, small chips to the edges, ancient weathering and some ersoion. An old repair to the head. The stone with natural imperfections and fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks. Presenting exceptionally well overall, mostly due to the superb color of the stone.

Weight: 429 g
Dimensions: Height 10.5 cm

The present lot is an exceptionally rare example of a snake rendered in amethyst, a material seldom used for burial sculptures. Most extant examples of serpent imagery from Chinese tombs are executed in earthenware or jade. The choice of amethyst, a stone associated with spiritual clarity and protection, suggests that this object may have served not only as a zodiacal emblem but also as a talismanic guide for the deceased’s journey into the afterlife. By the late Jin and Yuan dynasties, the inclusion of the twelve zodiac animals in burials had become increasingly stylized, their features exaggerated into expressive and sometimes playful forms. The snake, traditionally one of the twelve creatures of the East Asian zodiac cycle, was often portrayed with its head raised and eyes bulging.

In Chinese cosmology, the snake represents intelligence, composure, and mystery, qualities also associated with transformation and renewal. Within the funerary context, such attributes were believed to ensure protection, wisdom, and rebirth in the spiritual realm.

Museum comparison:
Compare a related earthenware burial figure of a snake, dated to the 13th century, 11.1 cm (high), in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1994.605.38.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2014, lot 119
Price: HKD 187,500 or EUR 26,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A yellow and russet jade carving of a snake, Song-Yuan dynasty (960-1368)
Expert remark: Compare the related subject, carving manner and dating. Note the smaller size (4.2 cm) and different material.

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拍品估价:700 - 1,400 欧元 起拍价格:700 欧元  买家佣金: 30.00%

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