Jade. China, EASTERN ZHOU, LATE WARRING STATES PERIOD, 4th - 3rd CENTURY BC罕見雙龍頭紋玉璜 -東周戰國時代晚期, 公元前4世紀-前3世紀

WIDTH: 13.9 cm寬 13.9 厘米

This beautiful huang 璜pendant is carved as two dragons that share the same arched body. The arch is so accentuated that it really describes half of a circle, a feature that is quite rare for Eastern Zhou pendants of this type.

The decoration is identical on both sides. Carved and incised lines define the dragons’ facial features, while the body is covered with small, regularly spaced spirals in low relief: two plain strips follow the contours of the arch. The heads, carved in profile at each extremity, are finely detailed: the extended snouts, marked with etchings, are only slightly upturned and confer continuity to the simple curve of the pendant. The mouth is open to show four detailed teeth, and a curled tuft of hair extends from the lower jaw. The carving on the snout, cheeks and ears is ever so slightly in relief, giving a more three-dimensional quality to the ornament. A carved curl filled with finely incised parallel lines separates the heads from the body: a central hole for suspension is drilled at the top of the pendant. The pendant is carved from a translucent light green jade with some brownish areas and various patches of heavy calcification on the body and on both of the dragons’ faces.

Literature comparison/Archaeological sites: The majority of huang pendants are carved from sections of rings and rarely have an almost perfect semi-circular form as this one. Similar pendants are published in M.K. Hearn, Ancient Chinese Art from the Ernest Erickson collection, New York 1987, no.95, and Na Chih-liang, Chinese Jades: Archaic and Modern from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Vermont/Tokyo 1977, no.110. A huang pendant with similar finely detailed heads was discovered in 1977 in a late Warring States tomb excavated at Yanggong, Chanfeng county, Anhui province: Yang Boda, Zhongguo meishu quanji: yuqi 中國美术全集 - 玉器 (Chinese works of art series: jade) vol.9, Beijing 1986, no.124.

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.