LATE SHANG-EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Details

A MOTTLED PALE BEIGE JADE 'DRAGON’ PENDANT
LATE SHANG-EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC
The pendant is of arched shape and is carved with circular eyes and the mouth is pierced for suspension. The stone is of mottled pale beige tones with some opaque white inclusions.
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) long

Provenance

Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Paris, by 1979.

Literature

F. Salviati, The Language of Adornment: Chinese Ornaments of Jade, Crystal, Amber and Glass from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty, Paris, 2002, no. 12.

Exhibited

From the Lands of Asia, Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex, Montreal, 16 November 2016-19 March 2017; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 4 March-19 August 2018.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

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

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The fine linear projections along the lower edge of this handsome bottle-horned dragon pendant suggests that it was carved from a section of a jade collared disc such as the Shang-dynasty buff-colored example formerly in the Lantian Shanfang Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, The Chang Wei-Hwa Collection of Archaic Jades, 30 November 2020, lot 2713. Given the precious nature of the material, it was common practice to re-carve earlier jade carvings that might have been damaged or broken.

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