A PALE CELADON AND RUSSET JADE PENDANT

Details

A PALE CELADON AND RUSSET JADE PENDANT
HAN DYNASTY (206 BC - 220 AD)

Of slightly tapering rectangular form, carved and pierced in relief to the upper surface with two coiling dragons highlighted by the dark brown skin, their long bodies and tails curling around the central aperture, the reverse with a tiered arch surrounding the central hole, the stone of pale celadon tone turning to a caramel colour at the surface
2 5/8 in. (6.8 cm.) wide

Provenance

Christian Humann
Pan Asian Collection sold at Christie's New York,1 December 1982, lot 238 (part)

Literature

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 29

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003-December 2004

Lot Essay

Pendants of this form were derived from earlier archers' thumb rings but by the Han dynasty the more intricate designs suggest they would have been used purely for ornamental purposes. The evolution and use of jade thumbrings and related pendants is discussed with reference to examples in the Sir Joseph Hotung Collection by J. Rawson, Chinese jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, section 20.

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