A RETICULATED WHITE JADE PLAQUE OF A WINGED DEITY LIAO – JIN DYNASTY | 遼至金 白玉鏤雕羽人珮

The present jade carving probably depicts a kalavinka, a winged deity said to represent the voice of the Buddha with its melodious sound, and be associated with Garuda and Kinnara in Buddhist art. See a Liao dynasty glass figure of a kalavinka in the collection of the Tianjin Museum, published in Jade Wares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 153. Figures of kalavinka are frequently found on Liao gold and silverwares, such several pieces from the treasure of Prince Wenzhong, which is datable between AD 1024 and 1027, illustrated in Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, pls 683-687.

此玉所飾，或為佛教中人首鳥身之迦陵頻伽，傳說其聲得佛音，清麗悅耳，居住淨土，與迦樓羅、緊那羅相關。參考天津博物館藏遼代琉璃迦陵頻伽飾，採側飛姿態，收錄在《天津博物館藏玉》，北京，2012年，圖版153。迦陵頻伽的身影，時見飾於遼代金銀器上，如河北文忠王府紀年1024-27年間之物，見 Han Wei 及戴克成，《Ancient Chinese Gold》，巴黎，2001年，圖版683-687。