Enquiry about object: 9760
Chinese Ming Dynasty Pierced White Jade Dragon Plaque
China Ming Dynasty, 16th century
length: 9.6cm, width: 4.9cm, thickness: 1.3cm, weight: 54g
Provenance
private collection, The Netherlands; acquired in the early 20th century from Japan for the previous owner mother
This beautifully well-carved and pierced oblong jade plaque is of flawless white jade. It shows a thin-bodied dragon writhing amid equally twisting leafy sprays. The carving is deep and in high relief.
Originally it might have been a box mount. A later, non-invasive silver frame has been fitted around the plaque so that it might be used as a brooch. (The frame could be removed easily without harm to the plaque.)
The sinewy, twisting manner in which the dragon has been carved suggests a 16th century Ming Dynasty attribution. (See a related example.) Also, see lot 583, Christie’s South Kensington, ‘Oriental, Tibetan, Himalayan and Islamic Art from Spink’, 19-20 June, 1998, for another Ming jade plaque with a sinewy, twisting dragon and comparable openwork. And lot 1009, Christie’s New York, ‘Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Part 1’, 13-14 September 2012.
The example here is in excellent condition.
References
Johnston, J., & L.P. Chan, 5,000 Years of Chinese Jade: Featuring Selections from the National Museum of History, Taiwan and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, San Antonio Museum of Art, 2011.
Whitty, A., The Albert Bender Collection of Asian Art in the National Museum of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, 2011.
