Jade fish

[Jade fish]

Jade fish, yuan, 11.3 cm high, 20.6 cm wide and 6.7 cm thick
White jade, with large area of ink spots, with ochre yellow skin color. The round carved fish with lotus branches in its mouth is thick and solid. The fish body is covered with parallel cross diagonal lines, which indicate fish scales. The lotus flower, lotus seed and lotus branch are all embossed, with graceful posture, which contrasts with the simple fish
Jade fish was once popular in the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties. It was flat, thin and straight, and was used as an ornament. After that, it disappeared for a time. From the beginning of the Song Dynasty, it became more and more common. The techniques were mainly round carving. The fish mouth held lotus, the body was curved, the posture was elegant, vivid, and more exquisite. Jade fish was quite popular in Liao, Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was found in the unearthed and handed down from generation to generation, with different postures and characteristics. Like the jade fish in the Song Dynasty, the tail of the jade fish in the Yuan Dynasty was mostly spread like a fan, while the tail of the jade fish in the Ming Dynasty was bent to both sides in the middle
The shape of this fish carrying lotus has inherited the design concept of animal carrying lotus which has been popular on gold and silver articles and jade articles since the Tang and Song Dynasties, but this is the only one known for such a large jade fish. Gold and Yuan jade carvings like to retain the skin color. This product reflects the characteristics of this era. The use of jade with large black spots is also the feature of jade materials in the Yuan Dynasty