Late Neolithic Calcified “Chicken-Bone White” Jade Silkworm-Form Pendant

拍品描述

Dimensions: L. 4.8 cm (approx. 1.89 in / 0.16 ft); H. 2.7 cm (approx. 1.06 in / 0.09 ft); weight 41 g (approx. 1.45 oz); approximately 3000–2000 BCE, 30th–20th century BCE，Condition & Provenance: Overall intact condition. The calcified “chicken-bone white” jade displays a warm creamy-white to ivory surface with naturally distributed ochre-brown deposits, darker accretions, fine weathered markings, and age-related wear. The segmented body, incised terminal decoration, and lateral suspension perforation remain clearly visible. Provenance: Private Collection, Washington State, USA.Description: This compact Late Neolithic pendant is sculpted in the form of a silkworm from heavily calcified “chicken-bone white” jade. The surface has developed a warm cream-to-ivory appearance with irregular ochre-brown deposits, darker accretions, fine weathering lines, and areas of wear that create a richly layered archaic character. Carved in the round from a single piece of jade, the body follows a strong curved profile, broad and substantial at one end before tapering into a smoothly rounded opposite end. Every edge has been carefully softened and polished, giving the carving a tactile, almost organic quality. Several broad transverse grooves divide the body into segments and reinforce the identification of the subject as a silkworm. A circular lateral perforation provides a suspension point and indicates that the carving was conceived as a wearable ornament. The flattened terminal face carries shallow incised decoration suggesting the insect’s eyes and facial details, while additional sweeping grooves across the body emphasize its segmented structure. The restrained combination of rounded sculptural mass and economical line carving is particularly effective: rather than relying on elaborate surface decoration, the artist created the insect through silhouette, volume, and a handful of carefully placed grooves. Silkworm imagery held particular resonance within early Chinese agricultural culture, where the insect was closely associated with sericulture, growth, transformation, renewal, and continuity of life. With its compact proportions, substantial volume, suspension hole, and highly abstracted animal form, this piece presents the direct visual strength characteristic of early Chinese jade ornament.

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