Jade. China, Western Zhou, 10th-9th century BC雙鳳紋玉飾片 -西周時代, 公元前10世紀–前9世紀

LENGTH: 7.6 CM長 7.6 厘米

One side of this tiny, roughly rectangular plaque in green jade is decorated with two long-tailed, crested birds in profile, a typical motif of middle to late Western Zhou jades. The birds, designed with double-incised lines, are placed one over the other: they have long beaks with downwards-pointing tips, an upright crest and a long tail that extends upwards from the back, and passes over the bird, terminating in front of the head. The bird at the bottom also has clawed feet. Only one side of the plaque is decorated: the other is plain and has a tiny ridge along one of the longer edges, suggesting that the small plaque was probably re-carved from another jade. Four conical holes are drilled near the corners, indicating that the jade was most likely attached to some support: in the late Western Zhou, similar small plaques were sewn on funerary veils that were placed over the face of the deceased.

The jade is light green and translucent but quite covered with a cloudy brown tinge and some superficial alteration, mostly on the back, which has rendered the affected areas slightly opaque. There is a nick on the top edge, as well as a small chip on the lower left corner.

Literature comparison/Archaeological sites: Three similar plaques carved with identical birds are in the Harvard Art Museums and published in M. Loehr and L.G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA) 1975, nos.332-334 (accession numbers 1943.50.101/134/135)..

Expertise: Prof. Dr. Filippo Salviati

From an Austrian collection奧地利老佔有

All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and described by Prof. Fillipo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.