Important Chinese Art
Important Chinese Art
A group of sixteen celadon jade ornaments, Shang dynasty or later | 商或以後 玉珮飾一組十六件
Auction Closed
October 9, 09:17 AM GMT
Estimate
1,000,000 - 1,500,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
A group of sixteen celadon jade ornaments,
Shang dynasty or later
商或以後 玉珮飾一組十六件
5.1 to 18 cm
A Japanese private collection, 1939-67.
Acquired by the present owner's father after 1967, and thence by descent.
日本私人收藏，1939-67年
現藏家父親於1967年後購入，此後家族傳承
Comprising a pair of C-shaped xi ‘dragon’ pendants, four S-shaped dragon-form pendants, three carved huang pendants, a pair of openwork ‘dragon and phoenix’ pendants, a double-fish pendant, a circular bi disc, a small ‘mask’ pendant, a small cicada-form pendant, and a carved buffalo.
Dragon-shaped pendants of this type with 'S'-shaped bodies and scrolling limbs were included in the range of jade pendants sets from tombs dating from the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Several excavated examples are mentioned by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1996, p.261. Although a great number of pendants in this style were produced, the decoration covering the bodies of these dragons varied considerably, ranging from incised cloud scrolls, rush-mat or hexagonal patterns in relief, and raised spiralling or grain-type bosses.
C-shaped pendants with notched edges, decorated with raised bosses and spirals were popular in the Zhou dynasty and continued to be used during the Han period. The Western Han examples, however, appear to have a greater density of incised 'cloud' scrollwork than those from previous periods.
Large double-headed dragon huang of the period were included in a set of jade ornaments which during the Warring States period was typically worn hanging down a belt. These double-headed huang were usually hung at the bottom of the assembled set, with the concave portion facing downward, presumably to assist in maintaining an overall structural balance to the set.
The production of small jade animal carvings blossomed in the late Shang period around the time of Fu Hao (circa 1200 BC). The bloom could have been inspired by Neolithic pieces, according to Jessica Rawson, as evident by the famous phoenix plaque from Shijiahe culture (circa 2500-2000 BC) unearthed in the tomb of Fu Hao, among numerous Shang dynasty jade animal carvings, see an example illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 5: Henan, Beijing, 2005, pl. 30. The similarities in decoration between jade animal carvings and bronzes, especially those with exotic zoomorphic motifs from Dayangzhou in Jiangxi, however, suggest another possible connection, see further discussion in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 205-208.
Dragon-shaped pendants of this type with 'S'-shaped bodies and scrolling limbs were included in the range of jade pendants sets from tombs dating from the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Several excavated examples are mentioned by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1996, p.261. Although a great number of pendants in this style were produced, the decoration covering the bodies of these dragons varied considerably, ranging from incised cloud scrolls, rush-mat or hexagonal patterns in relief, and raised spiralling or grain-type bosses.
C-shaped pendants with notched edges, decorated with raised bosses and spirals were popular in the Zhou dynasty and continued to be used during the Han period. The Western Han examples, however, appear to have a greater density of incised 'cloud' scrollwork than those from previous periods.
Large double-headed dragon huang of the period were included in a set of jade ornaments which during the Warring States period was typically worn hanging down a belt. These double-headed huang were usually hung at the bottom of the assembled set, with the concave portion facing downward, presumably to assist in maintaining an overall structural balance to the set.
The production of small jade animal carvings blossomed in the late Shang period around the time of Fu Hao (circa 1200 BC). The bloom could have been inspired by Neolithic pieces, according to Jessica Rawson, as evident by the famous phoenix plaque from Shijiahe culture (circa 2500-2000 BC) unearthed in the tomb of Fu Hao, among numerous Shang dynasty jade animal carvings, see an example illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 5: Henan, Beijing, 2005, pl. 30. The similarities in decoration between jade animal carvings and bronzes, especially those with exotic zoomorphic motifs from Dayangzhou in Jiangxi, however, suggest another possible connection, see further discussion in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 205-208.