A BARREL-SHAPED BEAD DECORATED WITH THE PANHUI PATTERN OF SWARMING CURLS

Jade. China, Eastern Zhou, 4th-3rd century BC
蟠虺紋桶形玉墜 - 東周時代, 公元前4世紀-前3世紀

Length: 4.8 cm
長 4.8 厘米

Beads with a barrel-shaped profile, like the present lot, are attested in tombs dating to the middle of the Western Zhou period (10th century BC) and continued to be used until the end of the Eastern Zhou (4th - 3rd century BC).

The extremities of this bead are marked by two plain, slightly recessed sections immediately followed by tiny bands carved with striated, parallel and diagonal lines. A third, similar band, is carved in the middle of the bead, where it separates the low relief decoration into two registers. The surface is covered with a pattern called “swarming curls”, or panhui 蟠虺in Chinese, formed by differently oriented fat scrolls in relief organized in vertical columns. Conical holes drilled at each end run through the entire length of the bead.

The jade is a mixture of bright green, brown with white calcified areas, especially on one side of the bead. Only the polished top and bottom are smooth.

Literature comparison/Archaeological sites: Like the following lot, JAK917-027, this bead can be compared to one published in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, no.240.

Expertise: Prof. Dr. Filippo Salviati

From an Austrian collection
奧地利老佔有

All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and described by Prof. Fillipo 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.