17TH CENTURY, SIGNED ‘YUXUAN’
HEIGHT: 4CM
WEIGHT: 27G
The furong soapstone is carved in the form of a rectangular-shaped seal, surmounted by a mythical beast seated with its head turned to the back and its tail curled alongside its back haunch. A vertical signature Yuxuan 玉璇 is incised on the pedestal in front of its left paw. The translucent stone is of a dark beige tone and its surface is well polished.
Yang Yuxuan, also known by the name Yang Ji, was a native of Fujian. Active during the Kangxi period, Yang was one of the most celebrated soapstone
carvers of his time, particularly known for the exceptional quality of his figural and animal carvings. The sensitive modelling of the beast’s anatomy as well as the naturalism of its pose in the present seal is reminiscent of a tianhuang example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in A Garland of Treasures: Masterpieces of Precious Crafts in the Museum Collection 集瓊藻： 院藏珍玩精華展, Taipei, 2014, p.138, no. III-44.
PROVENANCE
An American Private Collection
| 十七世紀 | 楊玉璇作壽山芙蓉石雕瑞獸鈕印 |
| 「玉璇」款 |
