A RARE LARGE BLACK JADE CEREMONIAL BLADE, ZHANG LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD |

impressively worked from an opaque black stone to a long waisted blade tapering from the two projecting flanges (lan) towards the concave end flanked by notched edges, all above the tang marked with a bevelled edge on one side, the tang further pierced with an aperture for hafting, one side of the blade with a prominent cutting mark, the surface lustrously patinated to a brownish olive-green colour with white mottles

J.T. Tai & Co., New York, prior to 1966.
Collection of Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987).
Christie's New York, 14th September 2009, lot 37.

As visible in the catalogue illustrations, there are some old chips and flakes to the edges, especially to the forked end. The surface has an attractive patina with occasional adhesion. The tang is inscribed in red with the number J928. The actual colour of the blade is darker than the catalogue illustrations.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

With a simple but elegant silhouette, the present blade is carefully worked and softly polished to extreme thinness, which must have been a technical marvel of its time. The tip is ground to a mere 0.1 cm while the thickest point of the blade measures only 0.4 cm. The exact production process of such thin blades still remains unclear to scholars (Jenny F. So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 2019, pp. 90, 92). This type of forked blade with notches made its first appearance during the Neolithic period, although as noted by Jessica Rawson, large jade blades of this form have no prototypes among the stone implements of the Neolithic period and the source of this shape remains unknown (Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 188). According to Jenny F. So, blades decorated with a simple, single-notched tang, such as many excavated in the Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, probably belong to the earliest type. Later blades with more elaborate notches, on the other hand, are Southwest interpretations (Jenny F. So, op.cit., p. 92).

The function of this type of blades has been an area of discussion, and interpretations of it as a military implement have been suggested in ancient texts such as Zhouli [Rites of Zhou], as well as Zheng Xuan’s commentaries in the Eastern Han dynasty. Blades of this form are often of large size and are finely and thinly carved, suggesting a ceremonial function, which is consistent with the archaeological excavation findings from sacrificial pits.

Elegantly shaped and often with attractive patina, these blades have been treasured by connoisseurs in later periods, such as the eminent late Qing dynasty scholar collector Wu Dacheng (1835-1902), who first came up with the term yazhang (toothed ceremonial blade) in his book Guyu tukao [Study of ancient jade].

A slightly longer forked blade in the Palace Museum, Beijing, attributed to the Shenmu Shimao culture (c. 2000-1500 BC), has a similar sawn-off mark on one side, illustrated in Yang Boda, ‘Jade Zhang in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing’, Chinese Jade: Selected Articles from Orientations 1983-2003, Hong Kong, 2005, p. 145, fig. 8, together with three shorter Shimao examples, figs 9-11. Two further blades in the Harvard Art Museums, also believed to be associated with the Shimao culture, are illustrated in Jenny F. So, op.cit., cat. nos 7A and 7B. See also Longshan examples of similar form, published in Tang Chung, Luan Fengshi and Wang Qiang, ‘Dongya zui zao de yazhang. Shandong Longshan shi yazhang chulun [Preliminary study of Shandong Longshan-type toothed ceremonial blades, the earliest examples in East Asia]’, Yu run dong fang: Dawenkou – Longshan. Liangzhu yuqi wenhua zhan [Exhibition of jades from the Dawenkou, Longshan and Liangzhu culture], Beijing, 2014, pp. 51-62.

Compare a slightly larger blade, attributed to Neolithic period, in the National Museum of China, Beijing, illustrated in National Museum of China, ed., Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu. Yuqijuan [Studies on the collections of the National Museum of China. Jade], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 25; and a shorter example from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, sold in our New York rooms, 10th September 2019, lot 243.