A rare jade standing figure, Western Han dynasty | 西漢　玉人

Teng Shu-p’ing, Collectors’ Exhibition of Archaic Chinese Jades, Palace Museum, Taipei, 1999, cat. no. 145.

Tiffany Chen, Selected Works of Jade, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2003, pl. 163.

Tsai Ching-Liang, Jades of Han Dynasty, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2005, pl. 113.

Carved with a remarkable economy of line, this charming figure exemplifies the minimalist aesthetic that characterises jade carving of the Western Han dynasty. The figure is depicted standing in a posture of reverence, wearing long, flowing robes with voluminous sleeves that gracefully conceal the clasped hands. The facial features and the folds of the drapery are rendered with simple, precise incisions, capturing a serene expression and a sense of quiet dignity.

Small jade figures of this type were highly prized during the Han dynasty and were often included in elite burials to serve the deceased in the afterlife. The use of jade, a material believed by the Han people to possess immortal, purifying, and protective qualities further underscores the figure's spiritual significance. The present figure's simplified, almost abstract form stands in contrast to the highly detailed jade dancers of the period, suggesting it may represent a domestic attendant or a mourner.

Compare a Han dynasty jade standing figure in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, sharing highly similar drapery and clasped hands, illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan cangpin daxi: Yuqi bian 4 - Han Wei Jin Nanbeichao [Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 4 - Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties], Beijing, 2011, p. 140, pl. 167. See also an Eastern Han jade figure excavated in 1980 from Tomb No. 2 at Ganquanshan, Hanjiang, Jiangsu province, now in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji 4: Qin, Han - Nanbeichao [Complete Collection of Chinese Jades 4: Qin, Han - Northern and Southern Dynasties], Hebei Meishu Chubanshe, Shijiazhuang, 1993, p. 178, pl. 248.

展覽

鄧淑蘋，《羣玉別藏續集》，故宮博物院，台北，1999年，編號145

出版

陳臻儀，《古玉選粹》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2003年，圖版163

蔡慶良，《漢代玉器》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2005年，圖版113

此玉人雕工簡練，線條流暢，完美展現了西漢玉雕極簡的藝術美感。玉人呈立姿，身著交領長袍，寬袖垂拂，雙手交握於腹前，姿態恭敬。其面部特徵與衣褶僅以寥寥數刀精準勾勒，神態安詳，端莊內斂。

此類小型玉雕人物在漢代極為珍貴，常作為明器隨葬於高等級貴族墓葬中，以期在死後世界繼續侍奉墓主人。漢代古人深信玉具有防腐辟邪、引導羽化登仙的神秘力量，這使得作為陪葬品的玉人更具特殊的精神意義。與同時代雕工繁複的玉舞人相比，本品造型更為抽象簡約，推測其身份可能為侍從或俑人。

比較一例北京故宮博物院藏漢玉立人，服飾特徵及交握的雙手與本品極為相似，收錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編4 －漢魏晉南北朝》，紫禁城出版社，北京，2011年，頁140，圖版167。另見一東漢玉俑，1980年江蘇省邗江甘泉山二號墓出土，南京博物院庋藏，收錄於《中國玉器全集4－秦．漢－南北朝》，河北美術出版社，石家莊，1993年，頁178，圖版248。