Lot 330
330
JADE CARVINGS
AN IMPORTANT ARCHAIC SPINACH-GREEN AND YELLOW NEPHRITE JADE BURIAL SUIT assembled in ten sections, comprising a mask, torso, two arms, two hands, two legs and two feet, each constructed from various chamfered rectangular, triangular and rhomboid plaques, pierced at the angles and stitched together to form a scaley covering, the jade of dark mossy green and pale yellowish-green tone (some plaques missing), Han Dynasty

Details
AN IMPORTANT ARCHAIC SPINACH-GREEN AND YELLOW NEPHRITE JADE BURIAL SUIT assembled in ten sections, comprising a mask, torso, two arms, two hands, two legs and two feet, each constructed from various chamfered rectangular, triangular and rhomboid plaques, pierced at the angles and stitched together to form a scaley covering, the jade of dark mossy green and pale yellowish-green tone (some plaques missing), Han Dynasty
approximately 157cm. high, each plaque approximately 3.4cm. long, reconstructed with brass wire onto later mounting

Lot Essay

Jade burial suits are indicative of the concern in immortality during Eastern Zhou and Han period, as jade was thought to preserve the body. From 8th Century BC, small plaques were sewn to the burial garments of princes and nobles; the designs of later suits are patterned to depict areas of the eyes and mouth.

Cf. smiliar elaborate jade suits excavated from Han tombs at Mancheng in Hebei province, which encased the bodies of Prince Liu Sheng, son of Emperor Jingdi (156BC-141BC), and the Prince's consort Princess Dou Wan. Liu Sheng's suit composed of more than 2,690 pieces of jade, the smallest measuring 1.5x1.0cm. and largest 4.5x3.5cm. The thin plaques are precisely carved and sewn closely together in twelve independent sections fitting around the human body. As with this lot, each jade piece has four small drill holes at each corner so that it could be sewn together with gold thread

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