East Asia, China, Neolithic Hongshan culture, ca. 4700 to 2900 BCE. A dark green and brown pendant in the form of a turtle with a pointed head, bulging eyes, and an incised shell. He stands on long, flipper-like legs, suggesting a seagoing creature. At the base of his neck is a drilled perforation for attachment. Turtles occupied a special place in Neolithic Chinese society. They traversed the space between the earth and the Great Ocean, symbolic of the spiritual journey to the underworld. Turtle plastron, the underside of the shell, often formed oracle "bones." The Neolithic Hongshan culture is largely known to us from excavations of temples and tombs, many of which contain jade or other stone abstract or animal-shaped objects like this one. Size: 2.55" L x 1.75" W x 1.05" H (6.5 cm x 4.4 cm x 2.7 cm)

Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection

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#125243

Some wear to form, especially around the drill holes. Some small encrustations in lower profile areas.