Mythic ram

The upper and lower surfaces of this white opaque jade have been enhanced with grayish-brown dye. The ram carved on it is seated on a flat rock and holds a large bunch of clouds in its muzzle. Sinuous ridges accentuate the ram's two cylindrical horns. Incisions on the forehead, eyes, and muzzle delineate the head. The space between the front of the ram's chest and the clouds forms a complex openwork. The clouds, which extend over the animal's back, are carved in relief whorls with a Daoist ying-yang (negative and positive) mark on the top. The bottom of the rock is simply cut with crevices.

This image represents the immortal Daoist sentiment "Three rams bring the start of prosperity in the morning" by borrowing the pronunciation of the word for "sheep," yang, which in the Daoist eight emblems represents the sun. Here the image of three rams, seen in a jade piece in the Tianjin Museum, Hebei (Zgyqqj 1991, vol. 6, plate 269), has been reduced to only one, and the ying-yang mark suggests the message of harmony in the universe.