Page 156 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art Junkunc Collection

243 A RARE ARCHAIC CALCIFIED JADE CEREMONIAL BLADE (ZHANG)
NEOLITHIC PERIOD - SHANG DYNASTY
新石器時代至商 玉璋

of elongated form flaring slightly toward the incurred cutting edge, the handle pierced with an aperture and flanked by two
projections, one with a small tooth set above, the stone of an opaque beige color with a blackish-brown dressing patinating
the surface

Length 11⅝ in., 29.5 cm
$ 30,000-50,000

PROVENANCE 來源
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）收藏

Jade blades of this form carved with teeth-like notches are called yazhang in Chinese, a term first used by the
eminent late Qing dynasty scholar collector Wu Dacheng (1835-1902) in his book Guyu tukao [Study of ancient
jade]. Yazhang made its first appearance during the Neolithic period, although as noted by Jessica Rawson, large
jade blades of this form have no prototypes among the stone implements of the Neolithic period and the source of
this shape remains unknown, (see Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.
188). The production of yazhang was popular in the Xia and Shang dynasties and the distribution of this blade type is
surprisingly wide, including Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, and Sichuan.

The function of yazhang has been an area of discussion and interpretations of it as a military implement have been
suggested in ancient texts such as Zhouli [Rites of Zhou], as well as Zheng Xuan’s commentaries in the Eastern Han
dynasty. Blades of this form are often of large size and are finely and thinly carved suggesting a ceremonial function,
which is consistent with the archaeological excavation findings of yazhang from sacrificial pits.

Compare a slightly larger yazhang of this type, attributed to Neolithic period, in the National Museum of China,
Beijing, illustrated in National Museum of China, ed., Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu.
Yuqijuan [Studies on the collections of the National Museum of China. Jade], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 25; one from
the collection of George Coe Graves, attributed to the Neolithic period to Shang dynasty, now in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 30.120.124; a third from the collection of David David-Weill, sold in our Paris rooms,
16th December 2015, lot 14; another from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, attributed to late Xia or early Shang
dynasty, sold at Christie’s New York, 1st December 1994, lot 87; and one of a slightly smaller size, from the Hongshan
culture, discovered in Haiyang, Shandong province, illustrated in Gu Fang, The Complete Collection of Unearthed
Jades in China, vol. 6, Beijing, 2005, p. 34;

此類玉璋又稱牙璋，清代學者吳大澂於《古玉圖考》首先 比較一例，尺寸稍大，斷代新石器時代，北京國家博物館
使用此名。牙璋首現於新石器時代，然而學者傑西卡•羅 收藏，圖載於《中國國家博物館館藏文物研究叢書：玉器
森論述，綜觀新石器時代各式石器，其中並無發現此類玉 卷》，上海，2007年，圖版25；紐約大都會美術博物館
璋之原型，而牙璋器型來自何處，至今仍未有清晰定論。 收藏另一例，出自George Coe Graves收藏，斷代新石
參考傑西卡•羅森，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic 器時代至商朝，藏品編號30.120.124；例三出自大維•
to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁188。牙璋尤其常見於 威爾收藏，售於巴黎蘇富比2015年12月16日，編號14；
夏商兩代，流通異常廣泛，包括山東、陝西、河南及四川 再比一例，亞瑟•M•賽克勒收藏，斷代夏朝晚期至商代
各地。 早期，售於紐約佳士得1994年12月1日，編號87；尚有一
例，尺寸較小，斷代紅山文化，出土於山東海陽，圖見古
牙璋之功用，各有見解，參考《周禮》及東漢鄭玄理論， 方，《中國出土玉器全集》，冊6，北京，2005年，頁34。
牙璋可能為軍用。此類玉璋一般尺寸碩大，雕琢細薄，
故此可推斷或為典禮使用，此論與考古祭祀坑發現牙璋相
符。

154 JUNKUNC: ARTS OF ANCIENT CHINA II