China, 960-1279. The crouching beast is depicted with the hind legs tucked under the body and the head facing forward, with the mouth slightly open. There are incisions to the side of the face and the short bushy tail, simulating the texture of the bear's fur. The stone is of a pale celadon tone, with honey russet inclusions, as well as calcifications.

Provenance: US trade. By repute acquired from an old private estate in Texas, USA.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age.

Weight: 96.4 cm
Dimensions: Length 7 cm

The bear has been a popular totemic emblem in China since ancient times. China's foundation myths hold that the legendary Yellow Emperor, or Huang Di, early on lived with his tribe in the northwest, presumably in modern Shanxi Province, but then later migrated to Zhuolu, in present-day Hebei Province, where he became a farmer and tamed six different types of ferocious beasts, including the bear, or xiong, with which the Yellow Emperor ever since has been linked. According to legend, Gun — said to have been the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the father of Yu the Great, or Da Yu — stole a special soil with which he planned to build dikes in an attempt to control the Yellow River's constantly recurring and very devastating floods. He failed in his mission, however, and, as punishment for his theft, was killed by Zhurong, the God of Fire. Gun's corpse turned into a yellow bear, or huangxiong, and jumped into a pool. A while later, a golden bear, alternatively said to be a golden dragon, emerged from the corpse's stomach and ascended into heaven, where the Yellow Emperor instructed it to complete his father's work in taming the Yellow River's waters. That bear turned out to be Da Yu, who — according to popular belief — heroically controlled the floods and became the mythological forefather of China's Xia dynasty. Therefore, the bear has been prominently associated with legendary rulers and Chinese national foundation myths since the earliest times.

Bears are native to China, their presence there known since antiquity. They were kept in Han imperial zoos and parks, where the emperor and his entourage enjoyed watching them in performance or in combat with other animals. On the other hand, they were perceived as enlightened creatures and it was believed that they resided in spiritual mountains and possessed the ability to intermediate between heaven and earth. Bears have also been linked with military prowess, shamanism, and immortality. As a corollary, it might be noted that the words for 'bear' and 'virility' are exact homonyms, pronounced xiong. According to the 'Rites of Zhou', Zhou Li, edited during the Han dynasty, bears were employed in exorcism rituals, their skin worn over the head of the performer who, holding a lance and a shield, led the officials to perform the Seasonal Exorcism by searching through houses and driving away pestilences. See J. Lagerway, Early Chinese Religion. Part One. Shang through Han (1250 BC-220 AD), Boston, 2008, page 287.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade figure of a bear, dated to the Song dynasty, 8.2 cm long, in the British Museum, registration number 1947,0712.487.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 6 November 2018, lot 113
Price: GBP 27,500 or approx. EUR 42,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare white jade carving of a recumbent bear, Song dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and similar incision work and carving to the face. Note the closely related size (7 cm).