A FINELY CARVED 'HONGMU' MODEL OF A RECLINING MYTHICAL BEAST 'XINIU' OR 'XIEZHI'

Description:

China, 18th c.
24 x 54 x 32 cm
Carved from one log, depicted as lying on its belly with its head turned back, its lion tail curved around its right hindleg, its mouth slightly opened to reveal two rows of flat teeth, with a singular elegantly curved horn on its head. Weight ca. 8.000gr.
Property from the estate of the collection of Hans Achim Lorentz (1899-19749
Publ. in Lorentz, Hans Joachim: "Chinesische Teppiche - Geschichte Ästhetik Symbolik" (Chinese Carpets - History Aesthetic Symbolism), Callwey, Munich 1975, p. 66, fig. 21 and p. 226, fig. 108 - Minor age cracks, two old repairs on its back