Description:

East Asia, China, Qing Dynasty, ca. 19th century CE. An exquisitely carved jade dragon sculpture, completely in the round with high relief features as well as attractive incised details. Notice that the dragon is holding a pearl in its claws. In Chinese culture, the pearl is traditionally associated with wisdom, wealth, power, spiritual energy, immortality, thunder, and the moon. Oftentimes in Chinese iconography, artists depict a pair of dragons fighting one another or chasing a flaming pearl. Size: 2.7" W x 3.2" H (6.9 cm x 8.1 cm)

Chinese art has incorporated jade since the Neolithic period; quarries for nephrite, the type of jade found in China, have been found in modern-day southern Mongolia that date to ca. 4000 BCE. The stone was prized for its hardness, its beautiful coloration (with a milky white that we see in this example being the most desired), and its durability. By the third millennium BCE, we know that jade had also come to be associated with immortality. Jade was used to make everything from everyday household objects and decoration to the ceremonial suits in which Han dynasty emperors were buried, given the belief that jade would preserve the body and the soul for eternity.

Provenance: private Los Angeles, California, USA collection, 1980s-2000s

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#154612

  • Condition: Very minor abrasions to legs and body, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits within some recessed areas.

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April 9, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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