Hongshan culture, c.3500-3000 BC
This small pendant and the two ornaments described
in the previous entries represent two typical categories
of the jade artefacts crafted by the Hongshan Neolithic
culture, which flourished in North-east China. The
pendant is carved in the image of a stylized bird of
prey, portrayed with its wings outstretched, a sturdy
and solid body and a bulbous head with two very large,
round eyes. Despite its small size, the carving retains a
strong sculptural quality: the bird’s imposing features
are cleverly and concisely rendered and highlighted
with small grooves cut into the stone. The carver has
also exploited the natural features of the chunk of jade
from which the pendant was crafted, integrating them
in the representation of the bird: in fact, the back of
the pendant is slightly bent, suggesting the natural
curvature of the pebble, while the brownish areas on the
rear are remains of the original skin which covered the
nephrite jade. The quality of jade used is that preferred
by Hongshan carver: it is of a light green colour with
translucent areas interspersed with darker ones, the latter
generated by iron inclusions in the stone. According
to mineralogical investigations conducted by Chinese
archaeologists, a great part of Hongshan jades were
carved from river pebbles of Xiuyan ?? jade, a type of
green jade which contains both tremolite and actinolite
in varying proportions whose deposits are located east of
Liaoning, beyond the region occupied by the Hongshan
culture. The loop-hole drilled in the back of the pendant
was used to suspend the carving: the hole has a peculiar
‘horse-shoe’ shape, often seen on Hongshan jades.
Hongshan pendants occur in various shapes though
those carved as birds of prey form the larger category.
Similar examples have been discovered at the Hutougou
site in Fuxin, Liaoning Province. For a selection of
excavated examples alongside specimens preserved in
Chinese museums, see Zhongguo yuqi quanji, nos.18-21.
SIZE 6,5 x 5 CM
From an Austro-Hungarian collection.
???? - ????, ???35??-?30??