WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, C. 1100-771 BC

Details

TWO JADE ‘BIRD’ PENDANTS
WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, C. 1100-771 BC
Both are similarly carved as a silhouette of a bird with angular head, and a sharply pointed beak. The wing feathers are embellished with incised lines which rise out of the scrolls that form the breast. The bifurcated tail seems to be that of a fish. Both are pierced through the breast with a small hole. Both the jade surfaces have signs of alteration.
Larger: 2 7/8 in. (7.4 cm.) long, box

Provenance

Yangdetang Collection, accquired in Taipei in 1989

Lot Essay

Compare a pair of similar jade carvings of bird excavated from tomb no.BRM1-yi of the Western Zhou Yu State tomb complex at Baoji city, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Yuguo Jade Wares, Beijing, 2010, pp. 132-133. Compare also a similar one in the National Palace Museum Collection (fig. 1).

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