Beschreibung:

Two Chinese serpentine 'horse-hoof' hair ornaments, possibly Hongshan Culture (4,000-3,000 B.C.), the taller of white tone with black speckles and calcification, 6.1cm, the second green with russet-brown inclusions, 4.8cm *This distinct shape has been labelled "horse hoof" or mati by Chinese archaeologists excavating Hongshan cultural sites in Liaoning and northern Hebei provinces. They are now thought to be some kind of hair ornament, as they have been found under or next to the head of the occupants of Hongshan tombs. A photograph of Tomb 4 at Liaoning, Niuheliang, area 11, showing a hoof-shaped jade beneath the head of the deceased, is illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Jade from Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum, 1995, p. 116, fig. 1. One, excavated from the Gejiayingzi site, Balinzuoqi, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, is illustrated by Gu Fang, The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 2, Beijing, 2005, p. 36. "In light of the changing international market practices for the auctioning of Oriental works of art, Dreweatts advises prospective bidders that we will require registered bidders to provide additional evidence of identity and, at our sole discretion, we may also request financial references that might include the lodging of a security deposit by a bank transfer or debit card prior to the commencement of the sale. In the event that a deposit is sought it will be returned, without interest and at the bidder’s cost with respect to transaction charges, within 7 working days of the end of the sale. In all circumstances it is at Dreweatts’ sole discretion as to whether we are prepared to accept bids from any bidder and we urge interested bidders to make their sale registration applications as early as possible, and in any event no later than mid-day on Friday 13th May.” Condition report disclaimer