† AN UNUSUAL CELADON AND RUSSET JADE ‘PIG-DRAGON’ PENDANT, ZHULONG, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, HONGSHAN CULTURE

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† AN UNUSUAL CELADON AND RUSSET JADE ‘PIG-DRAGON’ PENDANT, ZHULONG, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, HONGSHAN CULTURE Expert authentication: Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and confirms its authenticity and the dating above, noting the style of cutting, workmanship, thickness and quality of stone with decomposed areas indicating burial all suggest a dating to 4700-2500 BC. A signed copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 17 March 2020, accompanies this lot. Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012). Northeastern China, Inner Mongolia, 4700-2500 BC. Finely carved, the body of the creature is tightly coiled around a central oval aperture and extends into a powerful head, marked by two prominent ears, a pair of bulging eyes, and a wrinkled snout, beneath which are distinctive comb-like grooves. The top of the carving is pierced from both sides with a small circular aperture for suspension. The superbly polished, translucent stone is of an attractive celadon tone enlivened with scattered russet patches, cloudy inclusions, as well as dark shadings and veins. Dimensions: Height 6.6 cm The Hongshan culture, from which this pendant comes, remained unknown until the 1980s. Centered in northeastern China, it is known for large ceremonial structures built with rocks, graves lined with stone slabs, and distinctively shaped jades that were often the sole goods found in tombs. The present carving depicts a ‘zhulong’, or ‘pig-dragon’, a modern designation referring to the characteristic upturned snout, prominent bulging eyes, and tightly coiled body of the animal. Widely regarded as one of the earliest prototypes of the mythical dragon in Chinese art, the zhulong ranks among the most distinctive creations of the Hongshan culture. Carvings of this type are widely considered to reflect the emergence of a sophisticated ritual tradition and a complex system of beliefs associated with supernatural forces. Expert’s note: Although the present jade carving conforms broadly to the canonical pig-dragon (zhulong) type associated with the Hongshan cultural sphere, it exhibits a number of morphological features that set it apart from the established corpus. Particularly noteworthy are the comb-like grooves carved beneath the snout and the pronounced, sharply defined dorsal ridge. These features, for which no close comparables have yet been identified, distinguish the present carving as an exceptional variant within the zhulong tradition. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2025, lot 1004 Price: USD 63,000 or approx. EUR 55,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related subject, manner of carving, and color of the stone. Note the similar size (5.3 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 18 April 2024, lot 506 Price: HKD 203,200 or approx. EUR 23,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related subject, manner of carving, and color of the stone. Note the slightly smaller size (4.4 cm). 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU. 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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