Description:
A pair of hand ivory carved Phoenix birds perched on a cherry blossom branch, carved and engraved feather details with wooden base, unsigned.

Material:
Ivory

Maker/Artist:
Chinese school

Date:
first 1/2 20th century

Provenance:
Patricia & Dennis Della Penta estate

Size of Artwork:
H. 13.5 x W. 6 x D. 3 in

Weight (LBS)
2.5

Condition:
In very good condition

History:
Fenghuang are mythological birds of East Asia that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called feng and the females huang but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and they are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese dragon, which is deemed male.The fenghuang is also called the "August Rooster" since it sometimes takes the place of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. In the West, it is commonly referred to as the Chinese phoenix or simply Phoenix, although mythological similarities between the two birds are no more than superficial.fenghuang, Wade-Giles romanization feng-huang, also called feng or (misleadingly) Chinese phoenix, in Chinese mythology, an immortal bird whose rare appearance is said to be an omen foretelling harmony at the ascent to the throne of a new emperor.