TWO MOTTLED DARK GREY AND GREYISH-OLIVE JADE 'FISH’ PENDANTS
TWO MOTTLED DARK GREY AND GREYISH-OLIVE JADE 'FISH’ PENDANTS
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CHINESE JADES FROM THE COLLECTION OF T. EUGENE WORRELL
TWO MOTTLED DARK GREY AND GREYISH-OLIVE JADE `FISH’ PENDANTS

LATE SHANG-EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH-10TH CENTURY BC

Details
TWO MOTTLED DARK GREY AND GREYISH-OLIVE JADE 'FISH’ PENDANTS
LATE SHANG-EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH-10TH CENTURY BC
Cut from the same block of stone, each pendant is carved with an elongated, thick body tapering towards the upper and lower edges and incised with circular eyes, curved gills, and dorsal and pelvic fins, with a fine bullnose perforation through the flat mouth. The stone is of mottled greyish-olive and dark grey color.
The longer: 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm.) long
Provenance
Alfred Schoenlicht, Esq. (d. 1955) Collection, New York and the Hague.
John Sparks, London, 1956.
Myron S. (1906-1992) and Pauline Baerwald Falk (1910-2000) Collection, New York, no. 507.
The Falk Collection I; Christie's New York, 16 October 2001, lot 201.
Literature
Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-36, p. 28 and p. 37, no. 374.
H. F. E. Visser, Asiatic Art, Amsterdam, 1948, pp. 196-197, pl. 58, no. 103.
Smith College Museum of Art, Neolithic to Ming, Chinese Objects - The Myron S. Falk Collection, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1957, no. 5.
University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Chinese Jade, Philadelphia, 1963, no. 144.
China House Gallery, China Institute in America, Selections of Chinese Art from Private Collections, New York, 1986, p. 44, no. 12.
Exhibited
London, International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 1935-36.
On loan: Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, pre-1956.
Northampton, Massachusetts, Smith College Museum of Art, Neolithic to Ming, Chinese Objects - The Myron S. Falk Collection, 30 September-29 October 1957.
Philadelphia, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Chinese Jade, 30 November 1962-3 February 1963.
New York, China House Gallery, China Institute in America, Selections of Chinese Art from Private Collections, 18 October 1986-4 January 1987.
Charlottesville, Worrell Family Offices Gallery, 2001-2022.

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安)
Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

Lot Essay

‌Based on the similarity of the stone, one can deduce that these two fish were carved from the same block of stone and are unusual, in that unlike most fish pendants, they are not flat but carved in the round. Although the details are simply delineated, they are precise and expert in their execution. Several comparable fish, also carved in the round and with elongated bodies, in the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, are illustrated by M. Loehr, in Ancient Chinese Jades, Cambridge,1975, nos. 276-8 and no. 279.

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