A white jade 'xiezhi' seal


18th/19th centuryThe square seal surmounted by a crouching xiezhi vividly carved with the head turning backwards with bulging eyes, a ruyi-shaped nose and an open mouth, the body accentuated with a knobbly spine terminating in a finely incised bushy tail, the sealface carved chen weigang yin. 5.4cm (2 1/8in) high.
|十八/十九世紀 白玉獬豸鈕方印印文：「臣維剛印」Provenance:An English private collection, formed in the 1950sMarchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.15來源：英國私人舊藏，1950年代入藏倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號15The four-character mark reads chen wei gang yin, or 'The seal of the officier Weigang'. The finely carved mark and the selection of the superior white jade stone for the seal indicate it was specially commissioned by a high ranking imperial official.Compare with a white jade square seal, Qing dynasty, of similar form but carved with a lion, illustrated in Virtuous Treasures, Chinese Jade for the Scholars Table, Hong Kong, 2007, p.212, no.136; and see also another similar example with a mythical animal with the head turned to the front, Qianlong, illustrated in The Splendour of Jade: The Shongzhutang Collection of Jade, Hong Kong, 2011, p.132, no.112.Compare with a white jade square seal, Jiaqing. which was sold at Christie's Paris, 13 June 2018, lot 112.白玉質，潔瑩白潤，鈕圓雕獬豸蹲坐回首貌，獬豸獨角，口微張，鼓目，耳後伏，前肢交叉，蹄足，牛尾，背脊鼓釘狀凸起。印面篆陽文「臣維剛印」四字。獬豸為傳說神獸，原寫作「廌」，《说文解字》：「廌，解廌，兽也，似牛，一角，古者诉讼，令触不直者。」故而清朝都御史官服以獬豸为補子，取其能辯是非曲直意也。此件印文以「臣」始，且以白玉為質，印文工整肅穆，或為官印。類似一例白玉獅鈕方印，見《閣有天珍：中國文房玉雕》，香港，2007年，頁212，編號136；另見一清乾隆瑞獸印，著錄於《韞玉生輝：松竹堂珍藏玉器》，香港，2011年，頁132，編號112。另可參考一件清嘉慶白玉麒麟鈕方璽，出自宮廷造作，2018年6月13日售於佳士得巴黎，拍品編號112。