A RARE THREE-PRONGED ORNAMENT WITH ANIMAL MASK MOTIF Katalognummer: JAK0318-007 Jade China Late Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, c. 3300-2200 BC 三叉形獸面紋玉器 -新石器時代晚期, 良渚文化, 約公元前3300-2200年 WIDTH 6 CM - HEIGHT 3.5 CM 寬 6 厘米 - 高 3.5 厘米 Small ornaments in jade with this peculiar three-pronged shape are typical of the Liangzhu culture and are often decorated, as in the present case, with intricately carved animal masks. The ornament has a rounded bottom and three projections of equal size that protrude from the top: the front is decorated with a mask that is richly and finely detailed with tiny lines incised all over. The back is undecorated but has four cubic projections carved at the extremities of the prongs and at the bottom centre: the two cubes carved on the central axis are pierced throughout, indicating that this ornament was attached to some support. The highly polished jade has a lovely creamy white colour and is completely altered. The finely detailed mask carved in low relief on the front side of the ornament is characterized by an extended vertical “nasal ridge” that connects the snout to the forehead: this particular feature is seen mostly on masks carved on similar three-pronged jades excavated from Liangzhu culture sites in Yuhang county (Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) , such as those recovered from two graves of the Yaoshan site and published in Zhejiang institute of cultural relics and archaeology, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Jades of the Liangzhu culture), Beijing 1990, nos. 126 and 127. Compare also two jades of similar form and decoration discussed in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, nos.64-65. Startpreis 起始價: € 2.500 Schätzpreis 估計/估算: € 5.000 Expertise: Prof. Filippo Salviati From an Austrian collection All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and described by Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s. The microscopic images made available here, show that the weathering of the jade has occurred over a long period of time. Furthermore in the magnification one can reconstruct the workings of the jade. The two aforementioned criteria are exactly what counts in the authentication of archaic jades – the difficult and elaborate workmanship by hand and the subsequent weathering of the jade over centuries. The microscopic enlargements show how the patterns were ground out in many small steps, sometimes over months, and that the weathering actually occurs above the carvings, meaning it occurred after the jade was completed.
A RARE THREE-PRONGED ORNAMENT WITH ANIMAL MASK MOTIF Katalognummer: JAK0318-007 Jade China Late Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, c. 3300-2200 BC 三叉形獸面紋玉器 -新石器時代晚期, 良渚文化, 約公元前3300-2200年 WIDTH 6 CM - HEIGHT 3.5 CM 寬 6 厘米 - 高 3.5 厘米 Small ornaments in jade with this peculiar three-pronged shape are typical of the Liangzhu culture and are often decorated, as in the present case, with intricately carved animal masks. The ornament has a rounded bottom and three projections of equal size that protrude from the top: the front is decorated with a mask that is richly and finely detailed with tiny lines incised all over. The back is undecorated but has four cubic projections carved at the extremities of the prongs and at the bottom centre: the two cubes carved on the central axis are pierced throughout, indicating that this ornament was attached to some support. The highly polished jade has a lovely creamy white colour and is completely altered. The finely detailed mask carved in low relief on the front side of the ornament is characterized by an extended vertical “nasal ridge” that connects the snout to the forehead: this particular feature is seen mostly on masks carved on similar three-pronged jades excavated from Liangzhu culture sites in Yuhang county (Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) , such as those recovered from two graves of the Yaoshan site and published in Zhejiang institute of cultural relics and archaeology, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Jades of the Liangzhu culture), Beijing 1990, nos. 126 and 127. Compare also two jades of similar form and decoration discussed in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, nos.64-65. Startpreis 起始價: € 2.500 Schätzpreis 估計/估算: € 5.000 Expertise: Prof. Filippo Salviati From an Austrian collection All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and described by Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s. The microscopic images made available here, show that the weathering of the jade has occurred over a long period of time. Furthermore in the magnification one can reconstruct the workings of the jade. The two aforementioned criteria are exactly what counts in the authentication of archaic jades – the difficult and elaborate workmanship by hand and the subsequent weathering of the jade over centuries. The microscopic enlargements show how the patterns were ground out in many small steps, sometimes over months, and that the weathering actually occurs above the carvings, meaning it occurred after the jade was completed.
/56152/Internet%20Image%201.jpg "Source: Dix Noonan Webb")
/40296/Internet%20Image%201.jpg "Source: Dix Noonan Webb")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
