Beschreibung:

Lot details Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 China, 11th century BC. Well carved in the round as a crouching tiger with tucked-in legs, curled tail and forward-facing head, the rib cage neatly incised, the ears pricked and eyes open in an alert expression. The bone has a superb, naturally grown, warm patina. Provenance: The collection of Dr. Wou Kiuan. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, coll. no. E.4.13. Sotheby’s London, 1 November 2022, lot 148. A private collector, acquired from the above. A copy of the invoice from Sotheby's London, dated 8 November 2022 and stating a purchase price of GBP 9,450 or approx. EUR 11,500 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing) accompanies this lot. Dr. Wou Kiuan (1910-1997) was a Chinese diplomat and noted scholar of Chinese art. His father, Wou Lien-Pai (1873-1944), was one the leading political figures of early 20th century China, remembered for his role as speaker and leader of parliament during the turbulent years of the Republican era. Dr. Wou himself embarked on an illustrious career in diplomacy until his retirement in 1952, when he settled in London and devoted the rest of his life to the study of Chinese art. It was without doubt fortuitous that Dr. Wou’s years of collecting coincided with an abundant availability of exceptional Chinese art on the London market. From the mid-1950s to the late 1960s he was able to form a collection of well over 1,000 works that together represented virtually every category of Chinese art. At the heart of Dr. Wou’s drive to collect was a burning desire to preserve the relics of China’s rich historical past scattered across Europe, and to promote Chinese art and culture. It is unclear when Dr. Wou conceived the idea to create a place to house his collection, but in 1968, he opened the doors to the Wou Lien-Pai Museum, named in honor of his father. Over the years, the museum became a ‘must see’ destination for collectors, academics, and visiting dignitaries, and Dr. Wou would delight in leading his visitors through the galleries, recounting stories of China’s glorious history. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Displaying exceptionally well. Extensive wear, minor losses, chips, expected age cracks and other natural flaws in the bone, minor old repairs, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations. Note that the patina took more than 3,000 years to develop and therefore is not only spectacular in appearance, but literally one-of-a-kind. Weight: 61.5 g Dimensions: Length 12.5 cm Please click here to read the full description Bone was widely used for both practical and decorative purposes in ancient China. It was made into vessels, spoons, and personal adornments. With its coiled tail and long muzzle, this bone carving of a tiger was probably used as an amulet or talisman, protecting its wearer from harm and danger. The tiger, called hu or laohu in Chinese, is among the most recognizable of the world’s charismatic megafauna. Originating in China and northern Central Asia, the tiger was known to the earliest Chinese, who likely feared, admired, and respected it for its strength, ferocity, and regal bearing. Though its precise symbolism in Shang times (c. 1600–c. 1046 BC) remains unknown, the tiger doubtless played a totemic, tutelary, or talismanic role. By the Western Han period (206 BC–AD 9) – a thousand years after this pendant was made – the tiger was regarded as the ‘king of the hundred beasts’, or baishou zhi wang, due to its power and ferocity and especially for the markings on its forehead which typically resemble the character wang, or ‘king’. In addition, not only did the tiger figure among the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, but it gained a place among the auspicious animals that symbolize the four cardinal directions – the White Tiger, or baihu, of the west, the Azure Dragon of the east, the Vermilion Bird of the south, and the Black Tortoise of the north. Literature comparison: Compare a rel