A SUPERB AND RARE ARCHAIC CELADON AND RUSSET JADE SLIT DISC (JUE) EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY |

of circular form, meticulously incised to one side with highly stylized mythical birds and intertwined serpentine creatures dissolving into intricate scrolls, all divided by a narrow rectangular band enclosing two S-shaped double spirals opposite the slit, the reverse plain, the narrow side finely incised with diagonal lines, the softly polished stone a pale green color with touches of russet coloration and minor calcification along the edges

Fritz Low-Beer, New York, 1950.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade Through the Wei Dynasty, New York, 1963, pl. XX, figs 1a-b.

The disc is in overall good condition with expected age-related wear and erosion, including an approx. 0.2 cm wide minor flake to the edge, as illustrated in the catalogue, and some minute nicks along the edges.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present lot is outstanding for its strikingly intricate design and exceedingly high quality of worksmanship, which make it a particularly rare example of this form. Compare a jade huang, incised with a very similar although less intricate design, from the early Spring and Autumn period, excavated from the Huang Junmeng tomb in Baoxiang Temple, Guangshan county, Henan province, in 1983, published in Yang Boda, ed., Zhongguo meishu quanji yuqi [Complete series on Chinese art. Jades], vol. 9, Beijing, 1997, pl. 95. 

Related jade slit discs are more commonly decorated in simpler designs. See for example, one from the mid Spring and Autumn period, carved to one side with C-scrolls, and the other side undecorated, unearthed from a tomb in Zhechuan county, Henan province in 1978, illustrated in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese jades], vol. 1, Shijiazhuang, 2005, no. 24; a pair decorated with S-scrolls and commas, formerly in the collection of A.W. Bahr and Arthur M. Sackler, now in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, acc. no. S1987.497-498; and another pair carved with an abstract dragon design, in the Kwan Collection, exhibited in Chinese Archaic Jades from the Kwan Collection, Art Gallery The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 145.