Jade. China, Western Han dynasty, 2nd-1st century BC雙鳳穀紋玉璧 - 西漢時代, 公元前2世紀-前1世紀

Diameter: 10.6 cm, HEIGHT: 11.4 cm直徑 10.6 厘米, 高 11.4 厘米

Discs embellished with motifs of phoenixes and dragons carved in openwork along the outside border form a category of jades that is often found in Han princely and royal burials. This small disc and JAK917-044 in this auction, flanked on the sides by two phoenixes, belong to this category: they are very similar in style, material and workmanship and most likely share a common place of origin.

This disc is adorned with two phoenixes in profile, one in front of the other, with crests on turned back heads that meet at the centre, forming a suspension loop through which the disc could be hung. The pointed beaks are open on two bold volutes which extend from the back and that probably represent short wings. An additional curl is curved below the body of each bird, whose tails terminate in a bifurcated tip. The birds are curved with scooped out areas and engraved cuts of various degrees of depth that give the decoration a sense of relief. The surfaces of the disc are decorated with a pattern of uniformly organized curls: two thin bands carved with slightly bevelled edges mark the inner and outer edges of the disc.

The light green jade remains translucent in only a very few small areas due to the extensive calcification and the orange-coloured encrustations on the disc. There are two slight nicks along the edge, just below the curved tail of one of the phoenixes.

Literature comparison/Archaeological sites: There are no exact matches for this disc, but in terms of typology, a disc in the Freer/Sackler Galleries decorated on the border with two long-tailed phoenixes provides the best comparative example (accession number F1916.154). Further discs decorated with phoenixes carved along the border are illustrated in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, nos.335-337.

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.