A Chinese jade pig, circa 220 B.C, the unpolished stone carved in the form of a recumbent pig with a flat snout and pointed ears, the body carved with deep slanting grooves delineating the front and rear legs, the stone of yellowish tone, 9.5cm longProvenance: Private collection UK, acquired from a Japanese dealer in 1993A number of jade pig carvings in pairs were unearthed in tombs dated to the Han dynasty. Compare with two pairs excavated in Jiangsu Province, Western Han dynasty, which are illustrated by Gu Fang in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China: Jiangsu and Shanghai, Beijing, 2005, pp.140-141; compare also with two other similar jade pigs, Eastern Han dynasty, unearthed in Shannxi Province, ibid., vol.14, pp.168-169; a third pair of similar jade pigs, Han dynasty, were sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 31.Please refer to department for condition report