From the Han dynasty onwards, jade carvings of mythical beasts attained a great sculptural quality and were typically executed with wings or other scrolling limbs protruding from their bodies. Most common amongst the mythological creatures carved in jade were dragons and bixie. The present lot is rare for the depiction of a ram-like creature. The head, remnants of curling horns, and the elongated round body, are similar to those on carved jade recumbent rams. Compare with one such example, Eastern Han dynasty to Former Liang dynasty, excavated at Lingjuntai, Wuwei, in the Gansu Museum, illustrated by J.Watt, China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750AD, New York, 2004, p.183, no.89.|The excavation of Neolithic tombs and burial pits with jade carvings which were found broken or with traces of burning suggest ritual treatment. See B.M.Fagan, The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Oxford, 1996, p.138. This ritual breaking of burial objects, dating as early as the Neolithic period, may possibly explain the broken appendages of the present jade carving.|玉質青灰色，部分有褐色皮。瑞獸為羊形，羊獸微抬，雖然羊身的彎垂長角、背部有羽翼、四足以及羊尾皆已失，但依然可見羊體造型豐滿，線條流暢，工藝不凡。|動物及神獸玉雕自兩漢時期作為陳設玉器已較為常見，為魏晉南北朝以及之後的唐宋玉器的世俗化奠定了基礎。此件玉雕瑞獸羊頭羽翼之形象雖極為特殊，但造型仍有漢代遺風。甘肅省武威市靈鈞台北凉遺址曾出土一件玉雕臥羊，除無羽翼之外，其頭部及身體線條均非常相似，見J.Watt，《China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750AD》，紐約，2004年，頁183，圖89。|此玉雕獸羊角、羽翼、四足以及尾部均斷裂，但斷裂切面平整，似乎是刻意所為，這或與當時喪葬習俗有關。在新石器時代的墓葬中就曾有發現被刻意破壞或者火燒的陪葬玉器，詳細論述見B.M.Fagan著，《The Oxford Companion to Archaeology》，牛津，1996年，頁138。