Lot 278
278
A RARE PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE HANDLE OR BEAD
A RARE PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE HANDLE OR BEAD

SHANG DYNASTY, CIRCA 1200 BC

Details
A RARE PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE HANDLE OR BEAD
SHANG DYNASTY, CIRCA 1200 BC
Of flattened, rounded rectangular form, divided into segments, each of the narrow sides carved with two addorsed, abstract cicada heads, with pairs of tapering eyes followed by a slightly waisted band encircled by two bow-string bands, and then by a wide band subtly carved with simplified wings, the broad sides carved with an abstract continuation of the heads and wings, one end with further wing-like depictions and a projecting edge pierced with one end of the central channel which is drilled from each end, the semi-translucent stone of even tone with satiny polish
3¾ in. (9.5 cm.) long
Provenance
A.W. Bahr Collection, Weybridge, 1963.

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Lot Essay

A comparable handle/bead excavated from the Shang dynasty tomb of Fu Hao, Anyang, Henan province, is illustrated in Yinxu Yuqi (The Jades from Yinxu), Beijing, 1982, pl. 114 (left); and another excavated from a late Shang dynasty tomb at Dayangzhou, Xin'gan, Jiangxi province is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China - 9 - Jiangxi, Beijing, 2005, p. 25.

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