Expert’s note:
The present carving with its flattened form, raised on four feet, was likely utilized as a paperweight in a scholar-official’s studio. During the Song Dynasty, the rise of the literati class, composed of scholar-officials deeply engaged in artistic and intellectual pursuits, led to the emergence of ornate paperweights as essential tools in the scholar's studio. The design of these paperweights often reflected individual tastes, emphasizing simplicity or refined elegance. Notably, the present carving’s capability to also function as an ornamental plaque, easily suspended from the apertures of the bifurcated tail, displays the exceptional sophistication of its patron and the carving’s elegant yet practical utility.

China, 1368-1644 or earlier. Carved from a substantial pebble as a horned mythical beast crouching low to the ground in an attacking stance, supported on well-defined clawed paws, with large eyes, bushy brows, a wide ruyi-form snout, and scroll details to embellish the muscular body, carved in low relief along with neatly incised ruyi and scroll. The bifurcated tail providing two pierced sections to this carving. The opaque stone of pleasingly contrasting brownish-black and white tones with russet veining, small clouds, and icy inclusions.

Provenance: From the private collection of a renowned New York photographer and his wife, the son of a New York gallerist and Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in the Pacific arena during World War II, and daughter of a prominent Chinese family who migrated to the United States in the 1990s.
Condition: Good condition with significant old wear, various traces of use, and natural imperfections, including fissures, inclusions, some weathering, few nicks, and minor nibbling.

Weight: 462.9 g
Dimensions: Length 15.5 cm

The interest of Chinese scholars in ancient artifacts can be traced back to antiquity, but the study of these artifacts, known as antiquarianism or jinshixue 金石學, literally meaning ‘the study of metals and stones,’ first developed during the Northern Song dynasty. The practice of collecting precious objects was spreading through China as well, and many lost pieces from the Shang dynasty and later were found at building sites. Song scholars established a formal system of dating these artifacts by examining their inscriptions, decorative motif styles, and physical shapes, introducing terms such as taotie which are still in use today.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related jade carving of a bixie in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Jade Artifacts in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, p. 25. Compare a related jade ornamental plaque, dated c. 960-1279, in the collection of the Freer Gallery in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institute, accession number F1916.158.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 17 September 2013, lot 121
Price: USD 100,000 or approx. EUR 124,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gray jade bixie-form water dropper, Ming dynasty or earlier
Expert remark: Compare the closely related color of the stone and similar incised decorations.