Page 35 - 2020 October 8 HK Fine Classical Paintings

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PROPERTY FROM THE HEI-CHI COLLECTION 東周戰國時期 白玉曲體龍鳳珮
A SUPERB WHITE JADE S-SHAPED ‘DRAGON AND
PHOENIX’ PENDANT 出版：
EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, WARRING STATES 姜濤及劉雲輝，《熙墀藏玉續》，北京，2012年，頁64
PERIOD
well worked from a translucent white stone, the thick S-shaped
pendant skilfully rendered to depict a sinuous dragon with its
coiled body detailed with spiral bosses and terminating in a
phoenix head
6.9 by 12.5 cm, 2¾ by 4⅞ in.

LITERATURE
Jiang Tao and Liu Yunhui, Jades from Hei-Chi Collection II,
Beijing, 2012, p. 64.

HK$ 400,000-600,000
US$ 52,000-77,500
Exquisitely carved as an S-shape dragon terminating in a
phoenix head, the present piece is notable for its powerful
sinuous form and outstanding material. Dragon-shaped jades
made a sudden appearance among the range of jades used
in pendant sets in the 5th century BC. By the 4th century BC,
dragon pendants of this type were popular and often made
as the bottommost components in the configuration of ritual
ornaments of the nobility (Jenny F. So, Early Chinese Jades in
the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 2019, pp. 210-213).
Despite its popularity, dragon pendants of comparable quality,
however, are extremely rare. Compare three related examples,
each of an S-shaped silhouette comprising of a dragon and a
bird on each end, preserved in the Harvard Art Museums and
illustrated in Jenny F. So, op.cit., cat. nos 25A-25C. See also
a reticulated jade pendant, carved as a sinuous dragon with
an upturned snout and further decorated with three phoenix
heads, excavated from a Chu tomb in Jiuliandun, Zaoyang,
Hubei, included in the exhibition Phoenix Reborn: Zeng and
Chu Jades Excavated from Hubei, Art Museum, The Chinese
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2018, cat. no. 59.

Rubbing 拓片

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