CHINA, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 10TH-9TH CENTURY BC

The carving of the bird decoration on this finial is similar to that found on a handle-shaped jade and a finial/insignia, both dated Western Zhou dynasty, and illustrated by Li Bingwu in National Treasure Collection of Rare Cultural Relics of Shaanxi Province, 1999, pp. 78 and 79. Similar carving can also be seen on a curved grey-green finial (described as a handle) in the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Cheng Te-K'un, illustrated by Jessica Rawson in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition catalogue, Chinese Jade throughout the ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1 May - 22 June 1975, no. 84, and on no. 83, a grey-green jade rectangular plaque in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, both dated Western Zhou