Sold for €31,200
including Buyer's Premium
Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價
China, c. 1200 BC. Exquisitely carved, depicted with the head facing forward, the figure rendered kneeling with the body upright and the hands resting on the knees, portrayed with large eyes, a broad nose, and full lips, flanked by ears subtly detailed in thread relief, the chest, back, arms, and thighs similarly decorated with scrolling motifs. The back of the head pierced with an aperture. Translucent stone of a fine yellow tone with russet patches and veins.
Provenance: From the collection of David Taylor, and thence by descent within the Taylor family. David Taylor (1876-1958) was a notable British businessman who lived in Belfast and owned various commercial buildings along with a substantial portfolio of stocks and shares. During his travels to China in the early 20th century, he acquired many jades, including the present lot. His grandfather, Sir David Taylor, was born in 1815 in Perth, Scotland, and moved to Belfast in 1842, serving as its mayor in 1867 and for two consecutive terms in 1883 and 1884.
Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Ancient wear, signs of weathering and erosion, few tiny nibbles, natural fissures and inclusions, one side with russet-colored encrustations. Overall presenting exceptionally well, with distinctive signs of age and burial, further adding to its remarkable appearance.
Weight: 49.5 g
Dimensions: Height 4.6 cm
Kneeling figures of this type are among the rarest jade artifacts from the Shang dynasty. Examples carved with related features have been found at the tomb of Lady Hao, dated to around 1200 BC, suggesting that this piece was made at around the same time. While the identification and function of these kneeling figures is a matter of speculation, their rarity suggests that “they are likely to have been extremely valuable and to have offered Fu Hao some sort of power or access to power” (see Jessica Rawson, Mysteries of Ancient China, London, 1996, page 108).
About a kneeling jade figure from the Tomb of Fu Hao, Ai Weiwei notes that “Some people believe this small carving represents Fu Hao herself, but I believe it’s more mythological than memorial in function — a ritual object related to a higher power” (see Ai Weiwei on a Shang Dynasty jade from the tomb of Fu Hao, published in 'It Speaks to Me: Art That Inspires Artists', 2019).
The Tomb of Fu Hao is an archaeological site at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang dynasty capital Yin, within the modern city of Anyang in Henan Province, China. Discovered in 1976 by Zheng Zhenxiang, it was identified as the final resting place of the queen and military general Fu Hao, who died about 1200 BC. She was likely to have been the Lady Hao inscribed on oracle bones by king Wu Ding as well as one of his many wives. The artifacts unearthed within the grave included 755 jade objects, among them besides contemporary Shang jades also Longshan, Liangzhu, Hongshan, and Shijiahe jades. It is to date the only Shang royal tomb found intact with its contents and excavated by archaeologists, never having been looted probably due its considerable distance from other known tombs.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade kneeling figure, dated late Shang, 13th century-1046 BC, 5.6 cm high, unearthed from the Tomb of Fu Hao at Xiaotun, Anyang, 1976, and now in the Henan Museum, illustrated 23 June 2023 on www.alaintruong.com. Compare three closely related jade kneeling figures from the Tomb of Fu Hao, exhibited by the National Museum of China in Beijing. Five kneeling figures from the tomb of Fu Hao are illustrated in 'Tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu in Anyang', Beijing, 1980, pls. 129 and 130, together with two related jade heads, pl. 131, nos. 1 and 2. Compare a related jade kneeling figure, 4.3 cm high, dated 12th-11th century BC, in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, object number 1943.50.317, included in the exhibition Ancient Chinese Jades, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1975, cat. no. 121. Compare a related jade kneeling figure from the collection of Jay C. Leff at Sotheby’s New York, 25 October 1975, lot 98. Compare a seated figure with knees raised, illustrated in 'Teng Shu P’ing, One Hundred Jades from the Lantien Shanfang collection', Taipei, 1995, pl. 37, together with a jade head, pl. 36.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April 2019, lot 3412
Price: HKD 1,000,000 or approx. EUR 122,500, converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An extremely rare white and russet jade ‘kneeling figure’, Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling with similar pose, and manner of carving with similar thread-relief decorations, and pierced aperture to the back of the head. Note the different color of the jade as well as the smaller size (4 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 639
Price: USD 91,440 or approx. EUR 81,500, converted at the time of writing
Description: An archaic jade bird, late Shang / Zhou dynasty
Expert remark: This archaic jade bird was, like the present lot, acquired by David Taylor in the early 20th century. Before it sold at Sotheby’s for $91,440, it was at an auction house in England, offered in a mixed lot of eight jade pendants dated “probably Qing dynasty” which sold for GBP 3,200. For a discussion on archaic jades and the current asymmetries in the market, see the foreword in the printed catalog for this auction. Note that like the present lot, this bird is similar in style to a jade from the tomb of Fu Hao. Note the smaller size and mottled color of the jade (3.4 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 641
Price: USD 76,200 or approx. EUR 68,000, converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic jade owl, late Shang dynasty
Expert remark: This archaic jade owl was, like the present lot, acquired by David Taylor in the early 20th century. Before it sold at Sotheby’s for $76,200, it was at an auction house in England, offered in a mixed lot of eight jade pendants dated “probably Qing dynasty” which sold for GBP 3,200. For a discussion on archaic jades and the current asymmetries in the market, see the foreword in the printed catalog for this auction. Note the mottled color of the jade and the similar size (4.8 cm).
Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價
China, c. 1200 BC. Exquisitely carved, depicted with the head facing forward, the figure rendered kneeling with the body upright and the hands resting on the knees, portrayed with large eyes, a broad nose, and full lips, flanked by ears subtly detailed in thread relief, the chest, back, arms, and thighs similarly decorated with scrolling motifs. The back of the head pierced with an aperture. Translucent stone of a fine yellow tone with russet patches and veins.
Provenance: From the collection of David Taylor, and thence by descent within the Taylor family. David Taylor (1876-1958) was a notable British businessman who lived in Belfast and owned various commercial buildings along with a substantial portfolio of stocks and shares. During his travels to China in the early 20th century, he acquired many jades, including the present lot. His grandfather, Sir David Taylor, was born in 1815 in Perth, Scotland, and moved to Belfast in 1842, serving as its mayor in 1867 and for two consecutive terms in 1883 and 1884.
Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Ancient wear, signs of weathering and erosion, few tiny nibbles, natural fissures and inclusions, one side with russet-colored encrustations. Overall presenting exceptionally well, with distinctive signs of age and burial, further adding to its remarkable appearance.
Weight: 49.5 g
Dimensions: Height 4.6 cm
Kneeling figures of this type are among the rarest jade artifacts from the Shang dynasty. Examples carved with related features have been found at the tomb of Lady Hao, dated to around 1200 BC, suggesting that this piece was made at around the same time. While the identification and function of these kneeling figures is a matter of speculation, their rarity suggests that “they are likely to have been extremely valuable and to have offered Fu Hao some sort of power or access to power” (see Jessica Rawson, Mysteries of Ancient China, London, 1996, page 108).
About a kneeling jade figure from the Tomb of Fu Hao, Ai Weiwei notes that “Some people believe this small carving represents Fu Hao herself, but I believe it’s more mythological than memorial in function — a ritual object related to a higher power” (see Ai Weiwei on a Shang Dynasty jade from the tomb of Fu Hao, published in 'It Speaks to Me: Art That Inspires Artists', 2019).
The Tomb of Fu Hao is an archaeological site at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang dynasty capital Yin, within the modern city of Anyang in Henan Province, China. Discovered in 1976 by Zheng Zhenxiang, it was identified as the final resting place of the queen and military general Fu Hao, who died about 1200 BC. She was likely to have been the Lady Hao inscribed on oracle bones by king Wu Ding as well as one of his many wives. The artifacts unearthed within the grave included 755 jade objects, among them besides contemporary Shang jades also Longshan, Liangzhu, Hongshan, and Shijiahe jades. It is to date the only Shang royal tomb found intact with its contents and excavated by archaeologists, never having been looted probably due its considerable distance from other known tombs.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade kneeling figure, dated late Shang, 13th century-1046 BC, 5.6 cm high, unearthed from the Tomb of Fu Hao at Xiaotun, Anyang, 1976, and now in the Henan Museum, illustrated 23 June 2023 on www.alaintruong.com. Compare three closely related jade kneeling figures from the Tomb of Fu Hao, exhibited by the National Museum of China in Beijing. Five kneeling figures from the tomb of Fu Hao are illustrated in 'Tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu in Anyang', Beijing, 1980, pls. 129 and 130, together with two related jade heads, pl. 131, nos. 1 and 2. Compare a related jade kneeling figure, 4.3 cm high, dated 12th-11th century BC, in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, object number 1943.50.317, included in the exhibition Ancient Chinese Jades, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1975, cat. no. 121. Compare a related jade kneeling figure from the collection of Jay C. Leff at Sotheby’s New York, 25 October 1975, lot 98. Compare a seated figure with knees raised, illustrated in 'Teng Shu P’ing, One Hundred Jades from the Lantien Shanfang collection', Taipei, 1995, pl. 37, together with a jade head, pl. 36.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April 2019, lot 3412
Price: HKD 1,000,000 or approx. EUR 122,500, converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An extremely rare white and russet jade ‘kneeling figure’, Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling with similar pose, and manner of carving with similar thread-relief decorations, and pierced aperture to the back of the head. Note the different color of the jade as well as the smaller size (4 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 639
Price: USD 91,440 or approx. EUR 81,500, converted at the time of writing
Description: An archaic jade bird, late Shang / Zhou dynasty
Expert remark: This archaic jade bird was, like the present lot, acquired by David Taylor in the early 20th century. Before it sold at Sotheby’s for $91,440, it was at an auction house in England, offered in a mixed lot of eight jade pendants dated “probably Qing dynasty” which sold for GBP 3,200. For a discussion on archaic jades and the current asymmetries in the market, see the foreword in the printed catalog for this auction. Note that like the present lot, this bird is similar in style to a jade from the tomb of Fu Hao. Note the smaller size and mottled color of the jade (3.4 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 641
Price: USD 76,200 or approx. EUR 68,000, converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic jade owl, late Shang dynasty
Expert remark: This archaic jade owl was, like the present lot, acquired by David Taylor in the early 20th century. Before it sold at Sotheby’s for $76,200, it was at an auction house in England, offered in a mixed lot of eight jade pendants dated “probably Qing dynasty” which sold for GBP 3,200. For a discussion on archaic jades and the current asymmetries in the market, see the foreword in the printed catalog for this auction. Note the mottled color of the jade and the similar size (4.8 cm).
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