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Expert’s note
Jade bixie are rare, but a matched pair of this quality is almost never encountered. Conceived as companion sculptures, the beasts face in opposing directions, their twisting bodies, flexed limbs, and curling tails creating a remarkable sense of contained movement. The close correspondence of their color, translucency, and russet skin strongly suggests that both were fashioned from the same lustrous jade pebble, reflecting both the precious nature of the material and the extraordinary ingenuity of the carver. Every contour of the stone has been skillfully and economically utilized, producing two compact yet powerfully animated forms. Monumental in conception despite their intimate scale, the present pair ranks among the greatest surviving jade animal sculptures of the period and constitutes a true tour-de-force of carving.
China 206 BC-589 AD. Superbly carved, the two-horned beasts with elongated bodies rendered in an elegant, stealthily crouching stride, richly detailed with scaly wings, bifurcated tails, and fur markings. One beast with the mouth ajar revealing sharp fangs and bulging eyes, the other with a slightly gentler expression and wide snout. The translucent stone is of a greenish-white hue with faint russet markings and veins.
Provenance: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 25 November 2022, lot 464, dated there as “A pair of celadon jade figure of mythical beasts, Ming dynasty or earlier“ and sold for HKD 277,200. The private collection of Jules Speelman, London, acquired from the above. The box with a label inscribed in Chinese, ‘Han dynasty, a pair of jade bixie’. Jules Speelman is a world-leading dealer and collector of East Asian art with 60 years of experience. In 1964 he joined his late father, Alfred, in the family business which already stretched back three generations to 19th century Holland and expanded into England around the turn of the century. Originally, A & J Speelman dealt with antiques, from European ceramics, silver, tapestries, and furniture to Chinese porcelain, and works of art. With his father, Jules gradually shifted the focus towards Asia and under Jules Speelman's skilled direction, A & J Speelman is now considered amongst the foremost dealers in Asian antiques, with a particular emphasis on figurative sculpture and works of art from the past 2000 years.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear, signs of weathering, few minuscule nibbles, the stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.
Weight: 46.3 g and 48.4 g
Dimensions: Length 9.6 cm and 9.4 cm
With a padded storage box. (3)
The Han dynasty saw a heightened interest in the representation of powerful mythical creatures in durable materials such as stone and jade. In distinct contrast to pottery figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts mass-produced for tombs to provide support in the afterlife, the function of these lifelike sculptures made from durable materials was to embody and pacify the elemental and supernatural forces of the living world.
Large stone figures of ferocious beasts including lions and tigers, and imaginary winged figures, were all placed on the tomb avenues of emperors and high ranking officials and military commanders, a tradition that flourished and reached a peak during the Six Dynasties, when immense fabulous beasts drawn from the spiritual world were produced on a grand scale outside the tombs near Nanjing. Simultaneously, an artistic tradition of creating jade animals of the highest quality flourished. In contrast to the majority of earlier two-dimensional jade carvings, made for the afterlife or to adorn the individual, these figural sculptures were created in the round as independent objects, not just as sumptuous display items for the appreciation of the elite, but also to provide the owner with a constant and concrete realization of the powerful supernatural forces latent in the world around.
Pixiu are mythical hybrid creatures, considered powerful protectors, resembling strong, winged tigers or lions, auspicious for wealth, and said to have a voracious appetite exclusively for gold, silver, and jewels. Therefore, Pixiu have always been regarded as being capable of drawing cai qi (wealth) from all directions, and according to the Chinese zodiac, they are especially helpful for those who are going through a bad year. There are two types of Pixiu: The one with two horns is the female, called Bixie. The one with only one antler is the male, called Tianlu.
Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty declared that the pixiu would be forever known as the ‘Treasure of the Emperor’, that only royal personage could possess a pixiu, and that it was strictly forbidden for all others to own one, including officials. This law was kept through to the very end of the Qing dynasty. Lifelike sculptures of these mythical beings made from durable materials, such as bronze and jade, were made to embody and pacify the elemental and supernatural forces of the living world.
Winged beasts in general (lion, tiger, deer, ram, eagle… etc.) are a popular and enduring subject in ancient Chinese works of art, and exist in many different forms (as a decorative pattern, flat carving or carving in the round). The term bixie first appeared in Jijiupian by Shi You in the Western Han period: ‘Sheji, bixie are both names of mythical beasts… bixie means ‘warding off the wicked’. It is said that jade pendants in the form of these two beasts can help prevent adversity and provide protection.’
The iconography of the bixie is closely associated with that of the griffin, popular in the Western Asia and Eurasia steppes, and originated in Mesopotamia in 3000 B.C. Bixie occupies a curious position in Chinese art. It is based on the imagery of a lion, a foreign animal, but has the spirit of a fierce tiger. It is often depicted alongside other exotic animals as artistic backdrops for monumental architectures, especially in the Han dynasty where palaces, temples, shrines and tombs were often decorated with large scale bronze or stone sculptures of Weng Zhong, qilin, tianlu, elephants, camels or horses. Bixie is an important component amongst the array that makes up this subject matter.
Although bixie have heads like a lion or a tiger, it is the tiger that most embodies its essence. In the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang in his military strategy coined the now well-known term ‘like a tiger added with wings’ to describe a general that excels at deploying his troops. The origin of this phrase can be found in his anthology Zhuge Zhongwuhou wenji, juan 4, edited by Zhang Shu (1781-1847): “Military command is the mandate to lead the three armies, and the authority of the chief commander. A general who has the command of the army and knows the essence of troop deployment to gain the upper hand, is like a fierce tiger that has been given wings and able to travel the four seas, to apply force when he sees fit.”
Zhuge Liang’s description of an able general as ‘a tiger added with wings’ is the bixie personified.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 3025
Price: HKD 8,480,000 or approx. EUR 1,133,000 (for one) converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An exceptional and extremely rare yellow jade figure of a mythical beast, Han / Six dynasties
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving with similar movement of the body and expression.
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