† A LARGE (40 CM) YELLOWISH-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE AXE, YUE, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD

拍品描述

† A LARGE (40 CM) YELLOWISH-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE AXE, YUE, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD Expert authentication: 1. Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and guarantees its authenticity and the dating above. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A copy of Dr. Gu's signed and notarized expertise, dated 24 August 2008, 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). 2. Sam Myers has examined the present lot and confirms its authenticity, dating it to the early Bronze Age, 2200-1900 BC. He appraised it at a value of USD 25,000 (or approx. EUR 29,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A copy of the valuation from Myrna Myers Arts d’Extrême Orient, Paris, written and signed by Sam Myers, dated 5 May 2017, accompanies this lot. Sam Myers is a scholar and expert of Chinese jades and works of art with over 50 years of experience. In 1976, his wife Myrna Myers opened a gallery in Paris specializing in Asian art, and together the couple built an extraordinary art collection, including one of the world’s most distinguished jade collections, published in numerous catalogs and seen around the world in a number of important museum exhibitions. China, circa 3rd millennium BC. Skillfully carved, the elongated blade gently tapering from the beveled cutting edge toward the hafting edge above a circular aperture drilled from both sides. The softly polished translucent stone is of a yellowish-green hue with areas of deep celadon together with a large patch of opaque russet. Dimensions: Length 39.4 cm While collectively termed ‘axe’ in English, jade axes have variations of translations in Chinese. Ceremonial jades of a trapezoidal form with a straight or curved edge would be named yue, produced for a long duration of time from the Neolithic period to the Zhou dynasty. As a ceremonial weapon, jade yue symbolized power in ancient Chinese culture. This jade yue would have been attached to a wood pole to be carried by officials as an emblem of authority. Literature comparison: Compare a related calcite axe, fu, China, late Neolithic period, c. 2000 BC, 27.6 cm long, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S1987.890. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Bonhams London, 18 May 2023, lot 1 Price: GBP 20,400 or approx. EUR 26,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related form and manner of carving. Note the size (34.3 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2015, lot 536 Price: USD 40,000 or approx. EUR 49,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related manner of carving and stone. Note the much smaller size (22 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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