A STRIKING DARK GREEN JADE SCABBARD CHAPE WITH A GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Jade, China. Western Han Dynasty, 3rd - 2nd century BC 玉劍珌 - 西漢, 公元前3世紀-前2世紀

This scabbard chape has a slender profile and an elliptical crosssection: the curving sides create the illusion that the jade is taller than in reality, but the difference in length between the top and lateral sides is actually only 3 mm. The two flat sides are decorated with a seemingly abstract pattern formed of alternating c-scrolls bordered by a plain band, commonly seen carved on this type of jade sword ornament. The design actually also includes a highly stylized taotie 饕餮, or animal mask, that can be discerned near the longer edge, as shown in one of the accompanying photographs. The top and bottom are flat but there are three holes at the top that were used to secure the ornament to the scabbard. The jade is strongly corroded, due to burial, and the original green colour is only faintly visible.
A comparable scabbard chape of similar shape, jade, size and decoration was found in 1968 in a Western Han tomb at Lingshan, Mancheng county, Hebei province: see Yang Boda (ed.), Zhongguo yuqi quanji: 3, Chunqiu Zhanguo 中国玉器全集/3/春秋 战国 (Chinese Jades: 3, Spring and Autumn and Warring States), Hebei 1993, no.106. Compare also the scabbard chape in the auction catalogue Archaic and Antique Chinese Jades, Galerie Zacke, 29 September 2017, lot no.41.

HEIGHT 5.9 CM – WIDTH 5.6 CM 高 5.9 厘米 - 寬 5.6 厘米

From an Austrian collection

All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and described by Prof. Filippo 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. The microscopic images made available here, show that the weathering of the jade has occurred over a long period of time. Furthermore in the magnification one can reconstruct the workings of the jade. The two aforementioned criteria are exactly what counts in the authentication of archaic jades – the difficult and elaborate workmanship by hand and the subsequent weathering of the jade over centuries. The microscopic enlargements show how the patterns were ground out in many small steps, sometimes over months, and that the weathering actually occurs above the carvings, meaning it occurred after the jade was completed.