Lot 104: TWO ARCHAISTIC LIANGZHU-STYLE JADE CARVINGS Late Qing Dynasty

TWO ARCHAISTIC LIANGZHU-STYLE JADE CARVINGS

Late Qing Dynasty

Possibly following Liangzhu prototypes, the faceted awl-shaped ornament tapers to a pointed end, the opposite end with a short perforated tab, the celadon stone stained brown in areas; a trapezoidal shape ornament carved with
chi dragon in relief, the reverse carved with a
taotie decoration, the tab perforated with one hole for attachment, the stone mottled green and stained black in recessed areas;
together with two plain trapezoidal shape ornaments, the tab of each perforated with three holes, the celadon stones stained brown and softly polished. (4)


Awl-shaped ornament: 2 1/2in (6.4cm) long；
Trapezoidal-shaped ornament: 2 3/8in (5.9cm) wide

PLEASE NOTE: This report describes, but may not be limited to, major condition issues for the lot.







Overall in good condition. Minor surface pitting and wear. Stones altered to induce colors and textures for the appearance of antiquity. Minute old nicks to corners.

清末 仿古良渚風格玉飾一組四件



Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價




Provenance:

Yamanaka & Company, New York

Gift of Samuel T. Peters, 18 December 1911

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1911-present




來源:

紐約山中商會

Samuel T. Peters 贈，1911 年 12 月 18 日

大都會藝術博物館，1911 年迄今



Liangzhu culture, the highly developed Neolithic civilization from the 3rd millennium BC, is one of the archaeological marvels in the 20th century. The ancient capital located in present day Yuhang, Zhejiang province, with a radiance of state control and cultural influence around the basin of lower Yangzi River and Lake Tai, leaving behind ruins of city walls, architectural compounds, temples, villages, and cemeteries.



Liangzhu culture is best known for producing finely carved ritual jades, including small ornaments similar to the present lot. Although scientific excavation of the sites only began in the mid-1930s, it is well-documented that Liangzhu jades were collected throughout the history, including some entered the Qing Court Collection. With the imperial patronage, antiquarianism became very fashionable among the elite class. Collectors of the late Qing passionately seeking antiquities may encounter 'old' jades in the marketplace that, in some cases, made in the Song, Yuan, Ming, or contemporary to their time.



Compare, for example, the faceted jade awl-shaped ornament illustrated by Wu Dacheng in
Guyu tukao 古玉圖攷 (Investigation of Ancient Jades), Shanghai, 1889, p. 111a, identified by the author as 瑱 (read as
tian or
zhen), a word for 'earplug' mentioned in historic documents. There is no evidence in the archaeological context to support the earplug theory, but Wu's illustrated survey remains pinnacle to the field for it had captured a glimpse of jade-collecting activities in the late 19th century.



Compare, possibly the prototype of the present example, the Liangzhu awl-shaped ornament unearthed from the Yuhang sites, illustrated in
The Dawn of Chinese Civilization: Jades of the Liangzhu Culture, The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 50, no. 41, and the crown-shaped fittings closely related to the three ornaments in the present lot, illustrated in the same volume, op. cit., p. 45, nos. 29-30.



A faceted jade awl-shaped ornament and two plain trapezoidal-shaped ornaments similar to the present examples in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of the same group donated by Sammuel T. Peters in 1911, are illustrated on the museum's website, accession numbers 11.190.248, 11.190.106, and 11.190.58.

This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤