.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
An ‘animal mask’ jade bangle
The bangle is covered with white alterations and gives off a rich well-handled patina.
The bangle is of a short cylindrical form with straight outer walls. The inner walls of the circular aperture drilled from both sides are slightly convex after thorough polishing. The bangle is well carved and imparts a solemn and sturdy appearance.
The exterior of the bangle is carved with three equidistant animal masks. Each mask has a pair of double-circle eyes enclosed by eyelids which are connected to each other by an arched beam, above two conjoined spirals symbolising the nose, and a further set of seven conjoined spirals. The in taglio decoration is remarkably fine in that each incised line appears thinner than a hair, making the decoration hard to decipher with the naked eye.
The animal mask on the present bangle is similar to that found on a three-pronged plaque unearthed at Fanshan, Yuhan District of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang province, now in the collection of Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics, illustrated in Wenming de shuguang: Liangzhu wenhua wenwu jingpinji, Shenzhen, 2005, p. 220 (fig. 1), which is the only other Liangzhu jade carving that can compare in terms of the fineness of the incised decoration to the work on the current bangle.
(Text by Wang Mingda)
The bangle is covered with white alterations and gives off a rich well-handled patina.
The bangle is of a short cylindrical form with straight outer walls. The inner walls of the circular aperture drilled from both sides are slightly convex after thorough polishing. The bangle is well carved and imparts a solemn and sturdy appearance.
The exterior of the bangle is carved with three equidistant animal masks. Each mask has a pair of double-circle eyes enclosed by eyelids which are connected to each other by an arched beam, above two conjoined spirals symbolising the nose, and a further set of seven conjoined spirals. The in taglio decoration is remarkably fine in that each incised line appears thinner than a hair, making the decoration hard to decipher with the naked eye.
The animal mask on the present bangle is similar to that found on a three-pronged plaque unearthed at Fanshan, Yuhan District of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang province, now in the collection of Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics, illustrated in Wenming de shuguang: Liangzhu wenhua wenwu jingpinji, Shenzhen, 2005, p. 220 (fig. 1), which is the only other Liangzhu jade carving that can compare in terms of the fineness of the incised decoration to the work on the current bangle.
(Text by Wang Mingda)