AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND IMPORTANT GRAYISH-WHITE JADE FIGURE OF A COURT LADY, EARLY WESTERN HAN DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Published: 
1. Jean-Paul Desroches (ed.) et al, Two Americans in Paris. A Quest for Asian Art, Paris, 2016, p. 86, no. 181.
2. Jean-Paul Desroches (ed.) et al, The Beginning of the World. Dragons, Phoenix and Other Chimera, Fondation Baur, Geneva, 2020, p. 213, no. 139.

Exhibited:
1. Pointe-à-Callière Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Montréal, 17th November 2016-19th March 2017.
2. Kimbell Art Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Fort Worth, Texas, 4th March-19th August 2018.
3. Fondation Baur, The Beginning of the World – According to the Chinese. Dragons, Phoenix and Other Chimera, Geneva, 11 November 2020-23 May 2021.
4. Musée Départemental des Arts Asiatiques, The Beginning of the World – According to the Chinese. Dragons, Phoenix and Other Chimera, Nice, Summer 2021.

China, 3rd-2nd century BC. Superbly carved in a standing pose with elbows bent and hands held before the waist, dressed in a long robe flaring near the hem, her hair neatly tied into a knot secured by a hairpin with a short curling end falling behind the head. The semi-translucent stone is of a pale grayish-white color with dark russet inclusions as well as patches of creamy white calcification.

Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. With expected wear, traces of weathering and erosion, areas of calcification, minuscule nibbling and losses. The stone with natural inclusions, veining and fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks. Some of these cracks show old fills.

Weight: 112 g
Dimensions: Height 11.2 cm

Jade figurines from the Han dynasty are typically small, multipartite works, most often portraying dancers, making the present example—a large, fully carved figure in the round—exceptionally rare. This striking piece echoes the posture and attire of burial pottery attendants from the period, a reflection of Han funerary practices rooted in strong beliefs about the afterlife. Just as ceramic models of attendants were included in tombs to serve the deceased in the next world, this jade figure likely functioned as a luxurious spiritual provision

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related smaller standing figure of a woman, 5.3 cm hight, in the Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, accession number 1995.0621.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 37
Price: HKD 3,649,000 or approx. EUR 475,000 (for two) converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Two mottled pale green jade figures, Han Dynasty or later
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and size (10.4 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4 April 2017, lot 3323
Price: HKD 1,250,000 or approx. EUR 160,000 (for two) converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Two extremely rare calcified celadon jade figures of standing ladies, Western Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and manner of carving.