† A TRIDENT-FORM JADE 'MASK' ORNAMENT, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, LIANGZHU CULTURE

拍品描述

† A TRIDENT-FORM JADE 'MASK' ORNAMENT, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, LIANGZHU CULTURE Expert authentication: Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and confirms its authenticity and the dating above, noting the style of cutting, workmanship, thickness and quality of stone with decomposed areas indicating burial all suggest a dating to 3200-2300 BC. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 15 January 2014, accompanies this lot. Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012). China, 3200-2300 BC. Of flattened arc-form with three prongs, finely incised to the front in a shallow relief with a mask featuring circular eyes set in elliptical ovals above an oval mouth, the reverse left plain, and the central prong drilled with a vertical channel from both sides for suspension. The opaque stone is completely calcified with beige and ivory colored areas and veins. Dimensions: Length 7.7 cm The trident-shaped carving represents a distinctive type of jade ornament associated with the Liangzhu culture. These finely worked elements were often combined with multiple conical jade vessels to form elaborate headdresses, particularly among the elite. Such ornaments are especially well represented in archaeological discoveries from present-day Zhejiang province, the heartland of the Liangzhu culture. Literature comparison: See two related Liangzhu culture jade forked ornaments, the first excavated from tomb no.10 at Yaoshan site in Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, 5.2 cm tall, the second unearthed from tomb no.2 at Hengshan site in Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, 3 cm tall, both illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 8, Beijing, 2010, p. 114 and 141. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2024, lot 1011 Price: HKD 5,166,000 or approx. EUR 587,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the similar form, the mask decoration, and color of the jade. Note the size (3.9 cm). 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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