Hongshan Culture Chicken-Bone White Jade Recumbent Divine Bird, Neolithic Period c.4700-2900 BCE

拍品描述

Dimensions: Overall length 10 cm (3.94 in); height 6.7 cm (2.64 in); Neolithic China, approximately 5000–3000 years ago.Weight: 297 g (approx. 10.48 oz).Condition & Provenance: The piece is preserved intact overall, with no apparent major chips, losses, or restoration. The jade has developed a distinctive chicken-bone-white appearance, accompanied by an extensive network of fine surface weathering and naturally varied tan, brown, and gray burial accretions. These tonal variations extend into recessed areas and carved grooves, giving the surface considerable depth and an appropriately aged character. Incised linear decoration and the tubular-drilled suspension perforation remain clearly defined. The surface retains a soft, subdued polish with visible traces of age and burial. Provenance: Private Collection, New York State, USA. Acquired from a Hong Kong antiques dealer in 1992 and subsequently retained within the same family collection for more than 30 years; accompanied by original collection documentation.Description: This substantial chicken-bone-white jade pendant is conceived as a highly stylized divine bird, a subject closely associated with the symbolic and ritual vocabulary of prehistoric northern China. Carved from a single piece of jade, the composition favors broad, rounded volumes and smoothly connected contours, giving the bird a compact yet distinctly sculptural presence. The body is full and substantial, while the neck curves gracefully back toward the torso, creating a continuous silhouette that is especially effective when viewed in profile. The head is reduced to a few carefully selected features: a compact cranial form, a small circular indication of the eye, and a short, blunt beak. Shallow parallel incisions along the neck suggest plumage without interrupting the overall simplicity of the form. Additional linear decoration defines the folded wings, tail, and selected areas of the back and underside, including geometric and grid-like elements that provide a restrained contrast to the otherwise smoothly polished surfaces. A tubular-drilled suspension hole passes through the rear portion of the carving, allowing the object to have been suspended or worn. The interior of the perforation and the recessed carved lines retain darker deposits, while the surrounding surface exhibits a dense network of fine weathering lines together with irregular tan, brown, and gray accretions. Against the pale chicken-bone-white ground, these natural variations create a visually rich surface and emphasize the depth of the carving. The entire form has been carefully ground and polished, producing gently swelling planes, rounded edges, and a muted luster rather than a highly reflective finish. The treatment is fundamentally sculptural: mass, curvature, and negative space carry greater visual importance than elaborate ornament. Divine and avian imagery occupied an important place within the ritual imagination of prehistoric northern China, where birds could serve as potent symbols associated with the heavens, spiritual communication, protection, and auspicious power. With its substantial 10 cm length, strongly modeled body, restrained geometric ornament, suspension system, and extensively weathered chicken-bone-white surface, this pendant possesses the monumental character of a much larger sculpture while remaining an intimate object intended to be handled, suspended, or incorporated into a ritual context. Its combination of abstract form and recognizable avian features gives the work a particularly compelling presence and makes it representative of the sophisticated visual language associated with prehistoric Chinese jade carving.

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