A WHITE JADE FIGURE OF A CAT

TANG TO SONG DYNASTY (618-1279)

HEIGHT: 4.8CM

The tall feline is modelled seated in an alert position with its long tail curled upward and head turned to one side. Its face is modelled with large rounded eyes, pointed ears and fine whiskers. The stone is of a translucent white tone.

SIMILAR EXAMPLES

Early jade figures of cat are extremely rare. However, there are two examples with very similar treatment to the face and angular contour of the heads; one of a chimera dated to the Six dynasties, illustrated in Hong Kong Museum of Art, Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 90-91, Catalogue No. 59; and another of a ram from the Southern and Northern dynasties in the Hangzhou Museum of History 杭州歷史博物館, published in Ancient Jade of Hangzhou, Hangzhou, 2003, p. 100, pl. 99.

PROVENANCE

The Ju-yi Scholar’s Studio Collection 居易書屋 , Taipei, acquired prior to 2000.

唐至宋代　白玉臥貓