Hongshan Culture (7500–2900 BCE) Calcified “Chicken-Bone White” Jade Carved Beast-Head Double-Perforated Ritual Pendant

拍品描述

Dimensions: Overall L. 10 cm (approx. 3.94 in / 0.33 ft); W. 7 cm (approx. 2.76 in / 0.23 ft); weight 248 g (approx. 8.75 oz); approximately 75th–29th century BCE，Condition & Provenance: Overall intact condition. The calcified “chicken-bone white” jade has a warm ivory-to-creamy-white surface with naturally distributed ochre-brown and gray-brown staining, dense weathering lines, and localized darker accretions. The sculpted beast-head profile, incised details, and both perforations remain clearly defined, with softly worn surfaces throughout. Provenance: Private Collection, Illinois, USA.，Description: This substantial Hongshan Culture jade pendant is carved from a single piece of heavily calcified “chicken-bone white” jade and conceived as an abstract beast head of striking sculptural presence. The surface displays a warm ivory-white ground enriched by irregular ochre and gray-brown staining, fine interconnected weathering lines, darker deposits, and a softly developed surface character. The carving is especially compelling for its bold use of mass and negative space. Rather than relying on elaborate ornament, the form is built around broad, sweeping curves and deeply rounded volumes. One end narrows into an extended muzzle pierced by a smaller suspension hole, while the principal section of the head is dominated by a dramatically larger circular perforation. Together, the two openings create an unusual double-perforated composition and give the compact carving a strong architectural quality. The larger aperture passes completely through the body, its substantial interior wall preserving visible working and surface deposits. Shallow incised curves and carefully modeled transitions define the eye, ear, muzzle, and facial divisions of the beast without interrupting the overall simplicity of the form. The upper profile rises into broad rounded planes before flowing into the elongated muzzle, while the lower contour is deeply recessed and then expands again toward the head, producing a powerful silhouette from multiple viewing angles. The entire object has been extensively ground and polished, leaving rounded edges and smooth transitions between the major sculptural planes. At 10 cm in length and weighing 248 grams, the pendant has a notably substantial physical presence for a prehistoric jade ornament. Animal imagery occupies an important position within the ritual vocabulary associated with Hongshan jade carving, where highly abstracted creatures could carry associations with protection, status, ritual practice, and communication with the spiritual realm. The combination of an abstract beast head, bold perforations, broad curved surfaces, and substantial volume gives this piece the direct, almost monumental visual character prized in early Chinese jade sculpture.

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