A CELADON AND RUSSET CARVING OF AN APSARA, SONG OR MING DYNASTYThe stone is of a celadon hue with grey mottling as well as various shades of russet, excellent surface finishChina, 12th-16th centuryCarved and pierced with the angelic figure flying elegantly whilst wearing a long flowing robe, a celestial scarf and an elaborate hairdo with curls. Apsaras are often depicted as flying figures in the mural paintings and sculptures of Buddhist cave sites in China such as in the Mogao and Yulin Caves, and the Yungang and Longmen Grottoes, and may also be depicted as dancers or musicians. They are referred to as feitian (飞天) in Chinese.Shape: SculpturalDimensions: Length 5.2 cmWeight: 35.4 gramsCondition: very good condition with some miniscule natural flaws in the mineral Provenance: Ex Collection Robert Kleiner, American private Museum collection Literature comparison: By the Tang dynasty, small jade figures of flying apsaras began to appear; see for example one in the Tianjin Museum, Tianjin, illustrated in Jade Wares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 110, together with two attributed to the Song dynasty, pls. 120 and 121, and a fourth attributed to the Jin dynasty, pl. 141.Auction results comparison: THE MUWEN TANG COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES, Sotheby’s, Hong Kong , 1 December 2016, lot 24. (for a comparable example, dating to the Song Dynasty) 褐斑白玉雕飛天童子把件,宋或明代玉石青色,灰褐色沁斑,表面光潤中國, 十二至十六世紀造型:雕塑尺寸:長 5.2 厘米重量: 35.4 克品相:極好,玉石内天然細微缺陷來源: 原Robert Kleiner收藏,美國私人美術館收藏