Jade. Eastern Zhou, Warring States period, 4th-3rd century BC
é›™é¾çŽ‰ç’œ - æ±å‘¨, 戰國, 公元å‰4世紀-å‰3世紀
長 13,3 厘米; 高 5,8 厘米
This elegant arched huang pendant has the extremities shaped as two dragon heads in profile: the central portion of the ornament is instead filled with small, raised dots regularly carved on the surface and arranged in diagonal lines. Two upside down stylized phoenix heads separated by a flower-shaped element are carved in openwork at the bottom, central part of the huang. A number of different techniques have been used to carve the finely detailed dragon heads. The profile of the squared snout and pointed chin are in fact marked by a line in low relief; the eyes and teeth are instead incised into the jade’s surface, while the mouth is rendered through a cut-out in the stone. The pointed ears of the dragons are also slightly raised over the surface of the jade and protrude faintly from the border of the huang: a tuft of hair marks the division between the heads of the
dragons and the central portion of the ornament. There is no suspension hole pierced at the top centre of the pendant: however, the five holes drilled at the bottom of the huang and the cut-outs in the stone suggest that alternative ways were used to hang the ornament, which was probably used together with other jades.
The jade is semi-translucent and pale green in colour: however, most of the stone has turned light brown due to the many iron inclusions contained in the jade. The entire surface of the huang is also dotted by many white spots, indicating natural alterations that occurred while the jade was interred in the tomb.
A somewhat similar arched pendant from the Sam and Myrna Myers collection, lacking the top suspension hole, was auctioned at Sotheby’s New York on March 19, 2014, Lot 149.
HEIGHT 5,8 CM, WIDTH 13,3 CM
From an Austrian private collection