† A YELLOWISH-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE ‘DEER’ PENDANT, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

拍品描述

† A YELLOWISH-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE ‘DEER’ PENDANT, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY 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 suggesting a dating to 1066-771 BC. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A signed copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 13 February 2006, 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). China, 1066-771 BC. Finely carved in the round and depicted in profile, the recumbent deer rests with its legs folded beneath the body, the rounded hindquarters rising gently toward a short tail closely following the contour of the back. The elongated body is decorated on both sides with neatly incised, abstract scrolling motifs characteristic of the period. The gracefully curved neck supports a large angular head detailed with a circular eye, prominent muzzle, and pointed ear, further embellished with incised linear and scroll decoration. A small circular perforation is drilled through the hindquarters from both sides for suspension. The smoothly polished, translucent stone is of a pale yellowish-celadon tone with areas of russet-brown inclusion and scattered creamy-white alteration. Dimensions: Length 7.1 cm The deer was an animal occasionally represented in jade during the Western Zhou period, following cultural exchanges with the northern steppe nomads, from whom the motif appears to have been derived. Within Western Zhou burials, jade stag or deer figurines have been found predominantly in the tombs of women. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related jade pendant in the form of a stag, China, Western Zhou dynasty, c. 1050-850 BC, 4.1 cm long, in the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art, accession number S1987.564. Compare a closely related jade pendant in the form of a deer, China, Western Zhou dynasty, c. 1046-771 BC, 4.8 cm long, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 24.51.14. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2023, lot 3792 Price: HKD 609,600 or approx. EUR 72,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, and manner of carving. Note the different color of the stone, smaller size (4.4 cm), and that the lot comprises two jade plaques 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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