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Sphinx-like Semi Human

Kneeling human in animal pose
  • Translucent light green jade with reddish wash, cracks and reddish suffusion.
  • Surface of jade is worn and wrinkled.
  • Kneeling human has elaborate headdress, animal body with paws.
  • Head has finely delineated hair surmounted by a crown.
  • Body is decorated with raised 'C' scrolls  and 'V' scrolls (angular 'C' scrolls).
  • 5.8(h) x 5.3 x 2.17cm
Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, in Enduring Art of Jade Age China, 2001, pp. 64-65, describes an almost identically posed jade. That piece has different ornamentation (raised line hook and curl, typical Shang) and a dentated ridge along the spine and head. She describes her piece as "an exquisitely carved sculpture of a human in animal costume" and places it in the Shang era. In general it seems to me to be more refined than this carving, but definitely in the same vein.
 
This book ( and volume 2, published 2002) have been a great source of ideas and inspiration for understanding archaic jade. They are particularly helpful in making sense of the semi human jades. 
 
 
 
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