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104 ¤ patronage, antiquarianism became very fashionable among the elite
TWO ARCHAISTIC LIANGZHU-STYLE JADE CARVINGS class. Collectors of the late Qing passionately seeking antiquities may
Late Qing Dynasty encounter ‘old’ jades in the marketplace that, in some cases, made in
Possibly following Liangzhu prototypes, the faceted awl-shaped the Song, Yuan, Ming, or contemporary to their time.
ornament tapers to a pointed end, the opposite end with a short
perforated tab, the celadon stone stained brown in areas; a trapezoidal Compare, for example, the faceted jade awl-shaped ornament
shape ornament carved with chi dragon in relief, the reverse carved illustrated by Wu Dacheng in Guyu tukao 古玉圖攷 (Investigation of
with a taotie decoration, the tab perforated with one hole for Ancient Jades), Shanghai, 1889, p. 111a, identified by the author as
attachment, the stone mottled green and stained black in recessed 瑱 (read as tian or zhen), a word for ‘earplug’ mentioned in historic
areas; together with two plain trapezoidal shape ornaments, the tab documents. There is no evidence in the archaeological context
of each perforated with three holes, the celadon stones stained brown to support the earplug theory, but Wu’s illustrated survey remains
and softly polished. (4) pinnacle to the field for it had captured a glimpse of jade-collecting
Awl-shaped ornament: 2 1/2in (6.4cm) long; activities in the late 19th century.
Trapezoidal-shaped ornament: 2 3/8in (5.9cm) wide
Compare, possibly the prototype of the present example, the Liangzhu
$700 - 1,000 awl-shaped ornament unearthed from the Yuhang sites, illustrated in
The Dawn of Chinese Civilization: Jades of the Liangzhu Culture, The
清末 仿古良渚風格玉飾一組四件 Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998,
p. 50, no. 41, and the crown-shaped fittings closely related to the
Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 three ornaments in the present lot, illustrated in the same volume, op.
cit., p. 45, nos. 29-30.
Provenance:
Yamanaka & Company, New York A faceted jade awl-shaped ornament and two plain trapezoidal-shaped
Gift of Samuel T. Peters, 18 December 1911 ornaments similar to the present examples in the collection of the
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1911-present Metropolitan Museum of Art, of the same group donated by Sammuel
T. Peters in 1911, are illustrated on the museum’s website, accession
來源: numbers 11.190.248, 11.190.106, and 11.190.58.
紐約山中商會
Samuel T. Peters 贈，1911 年 12 月 18 日
大都會藝術博物館，1911 年迄今

Liangzhu culture, the highly developed Neolithic civilization from the
3rd millennium BC, is one of the archaeological marvels in the 20th
century. The ancient capital located in present day Yuhang, Zhejiang
province, with a radiance of state control and cultural influence around
the basin of lower Yangzi River and Lake Tai, leaving behind ruins of
city walls, architectural compounds, temples, villages, and cemeteries.
Liangzhu culture is best known for producing finely carved ritual
jades, including small ornaments similar to the present lot. Although
scientific excavation of the sites only began in the mid-1930s, it is well-
documented that Liangzhu jades were collected throughout the history,
including some entered the Qing Court Collection. With the imperial
Wu Dacheng, Gu yu tu kao,
Shanghai, 1889, vol. II, p. 111a
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