QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The scrolls on the haunches of this finely carved figure have their antecedents in the flame-like scrolls carved on the haunches of jade carvings of mythical beasts of earlier date, such as the greyish-white and pale brown jade figure of a recumbent mythical beast, dated Song dynasty, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1996, pp. 112-13, no. 86. On the present figure, the flames have become more ornate and even more decorative.