Lot 110
110
A RARE AND FINELY CARVED GREY JADE 'BIRD'-SHAPED PENDANT
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A RARE AND FINELY CARVED GREY JADE 'BIRD'-SHAPED PENDANT

LATE SHANG WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, CIRCA 1100 BC

Details
A RARE AND FINELY CARVED GREY JADE 'BIRD'-SHAPED PENDANT
LATE SHANG WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, CIRCA 1100 BC
Well carved with bulging eyes and hooked beaks, its wings gathered and perching on bent legs, the body balanced by the long bifurcated tail, the opaque stone of greyish-buff tone heavily altered around the edges
2½ in. (6 cm.) long
Provenance
Baron and Baroness von Oertzen Collection
Literature
S. Howard Hansford, Jade - Essence of Hills and Streams, Johannesburg, 1969, no. A102, p. 63
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This jade ornament is a beautiful example of three-dimentional animal carving of Late Shang Early Western Zhou period, and is remarkably well preserved, given that it has such a long tail. A jade bird of similar hooked beak, bulging eyes and treatment to its wings was excavated in the Shang tombs in Shandong Dongteng, and is illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi quanji, 3 - Shang, Western Zhou, Hebei, 1993, no. 122, p. 91. Compare also a bird-shaped jade pendant, excavated in the Anyang tombs, illustrated in ibid., no. 89, p. 71.

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