An extremely rare pair of yellowish-celadon jade mythical beasts, Late Western Han dynasty | 西漢晚期　玉神獸一對

Liu Yujuan and Zheng Anfeng, Masterpieces from the Collection of Aurora Art Museum, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2003, pl. 41.

Tsai Ching-Liang, Jades of Han Dynasty, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2005, pl. 127.

Masterfully carved from yellowish-celadon jade with areas of white calcification, this superb pair of bixie exemplifies the pinnacle of jade craftsmanship during the Late Western Han dynasty. The craftsman has masterfully utilised sweeping curves, concave surfaces, and exaggerated proportions for the legs to imbue the figures with a palpable sense of tension and dynamic movement. The four legs and tails are rendered in undulating S-shaped curves, a highly effective compositional choice that further heightens the visual energy and muscularity of the sculptures.

The beasts are depicted in a crouching, striding posture, seemingly captured in the moment just before pouncing. The front and hind legs on each side are aligned in their forward movement, creating a staggered, asymmetrical alignment of the body that enhances the illusion of forward momentum. Reflecting the precious nature of the jade material, the carving of the tails has been carefully adapted to the original shape of the stone, resting flat against the sloping rumps formed by their striding stance to minimise material loss while maintaining the fluidity of the design. Mythical beasts such as the bixie were highly revered in Han dynasty cosmology, believed to protect the living and guide the souls of the deceased in the afterlife.

The present pair belongs to a distinguished group of Han dynasty jade mythical beasts characterised by their elongated heads, pronounced snouts, and dynamic postures. Compare a closely related jade bixie, Western Han dynasty, excavated from Zhouling County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, currently in the Xianyang Museum, illustrated in Gu Fang, The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p. 272.

See also related jade bixie carvings with similarly elongated heads, including a grey and black jade bixie, Han dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 4, Beijing, 2011, p. 178, no. 236; and another illustrated by Tsai Ching-Liang, Jades of Han Dynasty, Taipei, 2005, pl. 126. Compare also a brown jade bixie, Han dynasty, published in Masterworks of Chinese Jade in the Palace Museum, Taipei, 1969, pl. 20. For a related example sold at auction, see a Han dynasty bixie from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, illustrated in Art and Imitation in China, Hong Kong, 2006, pp.124-125, no.19, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 32.

出版

劉玉娟、鄭安芬，《文物精粹》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2003年，圖版41

蔡慶良，《漢代玉器》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2005年，圖版127

青黃玉質，局部受沁白化。此對辟邪雕工精湛，展現了西漢晚期玉雕工藝的卓越水平。匠人巧妙地利用曲線、凹弧面以及腿部佔總體積較大比例等技巧，營造出強烈的張力與動態感。其四足和尾部皆以S形的彎轉形式表現，此種S形的構圖在視覺中產生了極強的爆發力與肌肉感。

兩獸呈蹲伏行走貌，蓄勢待發。左右兩側的前後足為同一位移方向，身軀因此呈前後錯位關係，進一步加強了向前邁進的動態錯覺。由於漢代玉料珍稀，匠人惜料如金，尾部依料調整，順應玉材原形，服貼於因跨步而呈斜面的臀部上，既減少了玉料的損耗，又保持了線條的流暢。在漢代宇宙觀中，辟邪等神獸地位崇高，被認為具有驅邪避凶、護佑生者及引導逝者靈魂升仙的神聖功能。

本對拍品與一組具備修長頭部、吻部突出及姿態生動的漢代玉雕神獸風格一致。比較一相類西漢玉辟邪，出土於陝西省咸陽市周陵鄉，現藏咸陽市博物館，錄於古方主編，《中國古玉器圖典》，北京，2007年，頁272。

頭部同樣修長之近例，可參考北京故宮博物院藏一漢代玉辟邪，載於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編4》，北京，2011年，頁178，編號236；另震旦藝術博物館藏有一件西漢晚期玉仙人騎神獸，其神獸頭部比例亦可比較參考，見蔡慶良，《漢代玉器》，台北，2005年，圖版126。另可比較一漢代褐玉辟邪，藏於台北故宮博物院，見《故宮古玉圖錄》，台北，1969年，圖版20。拍賣市場之例，可參考思源堂舊藏一漢代玉辟邪，著錄於《馳騁古今：中國藝術的仿摹與創新》，香港，2006年，頁124-125，編號19，後售於香港邦瀚斯2016年4月5日，編號32。