A BROWN 'WENG ZHONG Ã¾Å Ã¼ÃµË â '...

A BROWN 'WENG ZHONG Ã¾Å Ã¼ÃµË â ' SERPENTINE / SOAPSTONE PENDANT

China

The abstract standing figure dressed in long robes, the solemn facial expression picked out with incisions, the smooth stone of a celadon colour with likely agate stained brown infusions.

H: 6,5 cm

Weight: 42,4 grams

Provenance: Rennes Encheres, 2013/04/22, lot 99.

Notes:

1. This subject, Zhong Weng ÃµË â þŠü also known as Wen Wong µûçþŠü or Dang Ã Ë Â¿, is rare either at public auction or in museum collections. It is that of an old man / mortuary figure quoted in ancient tales. The known examples are mostly attributed to the Han or the Zhou Dynasty.

2. For a similar subject carved out of jade, see the accession number 11.190.68 of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, donated by Samuel T. Peters in 1911.

3. For related pieces at auction, please see:

- Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2018/11/29, lot 460;

- Sotheby's New York, 2019/10/09, lot 115, a deaccessioned piece from the Metropolitan Museum of New York;

- Christie's Hong Kong, 2020/10/08, lot 230.