An inscribed white jade disc, huan, Western Han dynasty | 西漢 「小歐下十三」款素面白玉環

Wing Po Antiques, Hong Kong, 29th July 1994.

榮寶閣，香港，1994年7月29日

The stone of yellowishpale celadon tone, The outer edge inscribed with five characters reading xiao ou and xia shi san [lower thirteen].

It is extremely rare to find Han-dynasty jade with inscriptions, except for a few examples owned by the elite class. Two jade rings, one inscribed with shang shi er [upper twelve] and another with shang ba shi ba [upper eighty-eight], were excavated from a Western Han-dynasty tomb of Huan, counselor of Liu Xu, Prince Li of Guangling, illustrated in Jade Wares of Guangling in Han Dynasty, Beijing, 2003, pls. 42 and 43. Several jade bi discs and huang pendants with inscriptions were excavated from the tomb of Prince Chu of the Western Han, the inscriptions include qi shi qi [seventy-seven], er qian san bai si [two thousand three hundred and four], and zhong shi qi [middle seventeen], see Liu Cong and Zhang Qianqian, ‘Xuzhou Shizishan Chuwangling chutu taowen ji yuqi keming [Pottery inscriptions and jade inscriptions excavated from the Mausoleum of Prince Chu on Mt Shizi, Xuzhou]’, Zhongguo Shufa [Chinese Calligraphy], 2002, vol 3, pp. 66-71. 

Such numerical inscriptions usually are found on the outer edge of the thin jade objects, likely to indicate the serial number of production or decoration. There are also a few such examples from the Spring and Autumn period, all unearthed from the tombs of the higher class, however, very rare in quantity. For example, out of more than 30,000 pieces excavated from the cemetery of the State of Guo of the Spring and Autumn period, only five jade objects were inscribed. Similar to the Han-dynasty inscription, the characters are hidden in less noticeable locations such as the edges. See this group of inscribed jade published in Li Qingli and Su Jing, Guoguo Mudi Chutude Keing Yuqi [Inscribed jades unearthed from the State of Guo Cemetery], Wenwu Jianding yu Jianshang / Identification and Appreciation to Culture Relics, November 2013, pp. 78-83.

玉色淡青透黃，通體光素，打磨如鏡，內圈外緣亦然，外緣線刻「小歐」及「下十三」五字。

漢代玉器琢字者極罕，有者皆出自高級貴族。安徽省天長市博物館藏西漢廣陵國劉胥家臣桓氏墓出土之兩件榖紋玉環外緣刻有「上十二」及「上八十八」款字，見《漢廣陵國玉器》，北京，2003年，圖版42及43。徐州市博古館藏西漢楚王墓出土之數件玉璧及玉璜亦有「七十七」「二千三百四」「中十七」等銘文，見劉聰及張倩倩撰，《徐州獅子山楚王陵出土陶文及玉器刻銘》載於《中國書法》， 2022年，3期 ，頁66至71。此類銘文皆出現在片狀玉器之外緣，以數字為主，以遊絲毛刀雕就，推測為製作或裝飾編號。春秋時期亦有所見外緣刻字之玉器，數量稀少，皆高級墓葬所出，如春秋虢國墓出土文物三萬餘件，僅五件帶銘文玉器，銘文如漢代玉器皆位於邊緣不顯處，見李清麗及蘇靜撰，《虢國墓地出土的刻銘玉器》載於《文物鑒定與鑒賞》， 2013年11期，頁78至83。

此類銘文皆出現在片狀玉器之外緣，以數字為主，以遊絲毛刀雕就，推測為製作或裝飾編號。春秋時期亦有所見外緣刻字之玉器，數量稀少，皆高級墓葬所出，如春秋虢國墓出土文物三萬餘件，僅五件帶銘文玉器，銘文如漢代玉器皆位於邊緣不顯處，見李清麗及蘇靜撰，《虢國墓地出土的刻銘玉器》載於《文物鑒定與鑒賞》， 2013年11期，頁78至83。