Page 94 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Cloudlike jade plaque Together with coiled dragons (cat. 10) and hollow
cylindrical jade objects (cat. n), cloudlike jade
1
Height 12.9 fc /}), width 20.9 (8 V*),
3
depth 0.9 ( / 8) plaques are the most representative jade works of
Hongshan culture. The term "cloudlike," a con-
the
Hongshan Culture, c. 4700-2920 BCE
ventional usage of Chinese archaeologists, hardly
From Niuheliang, Jianping, Liaoning Province
covers the variety of shapes that these plaques
Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archaeology, assume, although the form is typically rectangular
Shenyang or round with four protruding legs. In recent years,
several scholars have combined this type, the jade
19 plaque with animal design (cat. 14), and other types
of jades into one category of object, and suggested
Jade arm ornament
that they served the same functions. 1 Cloudlike
Height 6.3 (2 V 2), width 8.1 (3 'A), depth 0.5 ('A) jade plaques, however, are more properly treated as
Hongshan Culture, c. 4700-2920 BCE a category of their own, perhaps representing a
From Niuheliang, Jianping, Liaoning Province transformation of animal forms such as the turtle or
tortoise. This plaque was excavated in 1987 from the
Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archaeology,
central tomb (measuring 3.8 by 3.1 meters) at
Shenyang
Mound i, Locality 5, Niuheliang. The tomb, that of
an adult male, constituted the highest level in the
2O
hierarchy of grave forms, but it contained only
Double-fai-shaped jade pendant seven jade objects: two bi, placed symmetrically at
the skull near the ears; two tortoises or turtles,
3
1
Height 13 (5 / 8), width 8 (3'A), depth i.o ( A)
placed on the palms of the occupant's hands; a
Hongshan Culture, c. 4700-2920 BCE
From Niuheliang, Jianping, Liaoning Province bracelet worn on the right wrist, a braceletlike jade
positioned on the right side of the chest, and this
Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang plaque, which was positioned vertically and upside-

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