A GROUP OF ELEVEN ARCHAIC JADE ORNAMENTS

Neolithic Period to Han Dynasty

Footnotes

新石器時期至漢 玉勒子、玉璧、玉佩、玉魚、玉方印及錐形玉器 一組十一件

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the style of jade seals was often simple and concise, adopting a inverted funnel shape where the upper part is smaller than the lower part. As seen in the present lot, to save effort and prevent the top from being damaged, the holes of Qin and Han jade seals were always drilled slightly downward from both ends, resulting in an outer-large-inner-small shape. See a similar jade seal, Han dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (acc.no.故玉000116N000000000). See a related jade rectangular seal, Western Han dynasty, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2745.

Archaeological reports suggest that the awl-shaped ornaments were used as hair ornaments for noble males. When the awl-shaped ornaments were unearthed, their pointed ends faced outward. See a group of nine similar awl-shaped ornaments, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, illustrated in Liangzhu yuqi 良渚玉器, Beijing, 2018, p.82.

Fish-shaped jade was a predominant jade type from late Shang to early Western Zhou. See five related jade fish pendants, from Shang to Western Zhou period, illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp.228-229.

Jade discs of the present originally were employed as ritual implements, and subsequently might have been cherished as antiquities, passed down among collectors throughout dynasties. The dragons on the larger jade bi should be carved later. See a related plain bi, c.2000-1500 BC, illustrated by J. Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp.157-158, pl.7:8.

See a related group of jade ornaments, Neolithic period to Han dynasty, which was sold by Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 May 2017, lot 11.