Lot Essay
Compare the two similar but attached carapaces of this type illustrated in The Jades from Yinxu, pl. 67
Details
A GREYISH-GREEN JADE TORTOISE CARAPACE
LATE SHANG/EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
The upper shell carved with a lozenge pattern within a plain recessed border and the lower shell realistically executed, the horizontal aperture flanked by deep notches at either end, the pale grey-green stone with slightly yellowish cast and areas of opaque buff and dark grey mottling, softly polished, traces of cinnabar remaining --¼in. (3.2cm.) long, brocade box
LATE SHANG/EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
The upper shell carved with a lozenge pattern within a plain recessed border and the lower shell realistically executed, the horizontal aperture flanked by deep notches at either end, the pale grey-green stone with slightly yellowish cast and areas of opaque buff and dark grey mottling, softly polished, traces of cinnabar remaining --¼in. (3.2cm.) long, brocade box
Provenance
Dr. Robert Bloch
Literature
Robert Bloch, Jade, Munich, 1979, p. 96, pl. 43 and 44 and lower col. pl. opposite