A GREEN JADE ‘BIRD’ PENDANT FRAGMENT, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTYChina, 1100-1000 BC. The flat stone carved in the form of a stylized bird, each side with grooves forming the wings and tail. The opaque jade of a grayish-green color with areas of white calcification.Provenance: From the collection of Dr. Wou Kiuan. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, coll. no. -H. Dr. Wou Kiuan (1910-1997) was a Chinese diplomat and noted scholar of Chinese art. His father, Wou Lien-Pai (1873-1944), was one the leading political figures of early 20th century China, remembered for his role as speaker and leader of parliament during the turbulent years of the Republican era. Dr. Wou himself embarked on an illustrious career in diplomacy until his retirement in 1952, when he settled in London and devoted the rest of his life to the study of Chinese art. It was no doubt fortuitous that Dr. Wou’s years of collecting coincided with an abundant availability of exceptional Chinese art on the London market. From the mid-1950s to the late 1960s he was able to form a collection of well over 1,000 works that together represented virtually every category of Chinese art. At the heart of Dr. Wou’s drive to collect was a burning desire to preserve the relics of China’s rich historical past scattered across Europe, and to promote Chinese art and culture. It is unclear when Dr. Wou conceived of the idea to create a place to house his collection, but in 1968 he opened the doors to the Wou Lien-Pai Museum, named in honor of his father. Over the years the Museum became a ‘must see’ destination for collectors, academics, and visiting dignitaries, and Dr. Wou would delight in leading his visitors through the galleries, recounting stories of China’s glorious history.Condition: Conditionmensurate with age. Old wear, weathering and erosion, nibbling, some chips and losses. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time.Weight: 7.2 gDimensions: Length 7.6 cmLiteratureparison:Compare a closely related jade plaque, described as a fish, Western Zhou dynasty, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 24.51.7.pare a closely related jade plaque of a bird, in the British Museum, accession number 1947,0712.465, and illustrated in J. Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum, 1995, p. 227, fig. 1, where she notes that during the Western Zhou dynasty, the tail became more horizontal and looks more like a ‘fish’ tail, such is the case for the present lot.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 26 May 2021, lot 127Price: HKD 56,700 or approx.EUR 6,900 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A celadon jade ‘bird’ pendant, Western Zhou dynastyExpert remark:pare the related form and grooves. Note the much smaller size (5.3 cm).西周鳥形玉珮中國，公元前1100-1000 年。珮呈扁片狀，以陰刻線技法雕