NEOLITHIC PERIOD, HONGSHAN TYPE, 3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM BC

This distinct shape this jade ornament has been labeled 'horse hoof' or mati by Chinese archaeologists working on Hongshan cultural sites in Liaoning and northern Hebei provinces. The working of the jade tends to be thinner at the upper walls of these ornaments, which are now thought to be some kind of hair ornament. One of these ornaments from a tomb in Liaoning, which like the present example has a hole drilled on either side above the lower edge, is illustrated by Xiaoneng Yang, ed., in The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999, pp. 83-4, no. 11.