17th Oct, 2024 11:00

TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism

 
Lot 98
 

98

AN EXCEPTIONAL JADE PENDANT OF A STANDING HUMAN FIGURE, SHANG DYNASTY

Sold for €5,200

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

China, c. 1200 BC. Of flattened form, finely carved as a standing figure with the hands bent in front of the chest. The face with large round eyes, a broad nose, and full oval lips opened to reveal minutely incised teeth. The figure is wearing heavy robes with neatly detailed pleats along the legs and an elaborate headdress with extensions hanging down along the side of the head.

The translucent jade is of a fine white hue with pale yellow and brown shadings and dark specks.

Provenance: From the collection of David Taylor (1876-1958), passed down through the Taylor family to his descendants. David Taylor (1876-1958), a prominent British businessman based in Belfast, owned several commercial properties and a substantial portfolio of stocks and shares. During his travels to East Asia in the early 20th century, he acquired numerous jades, including the present lot. His grandfather, Sir David Taylor (1815-1904), was born in Perth, Scotland, and relocated to Belfast in 1842, where he served as mayor in 1867, and again in 1883 and 1884.
Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Ancient wear, signs of weathering and erosion, soil encrustations suggesting a prolonged period of burial, and minor nibbling to edges.

Weight: 34.9 g
Dimensions: Height 7.9 cm

Jade carvings with humanoid figures are quite rare among Shang dynasty artifacts. The distinct pose of hands bent in front of the chest, as seen in this piece, can be traced back to earlier jade carvings from the Neolithic period. Examples include a jade standing figure from the Niuheliang site in Liaoning province, illustrated in Niuheliang – Hongshan wenhua yizhi fajue baogao (1983-2003) [Niuheliang: Archaeological Report of the Hongshan Culture Site], Beijing, 2012, vol. 2, no. 73, and another jade figure from the Lingjiatan site in Anhui province, illustrated in Jenny F. So's article, ‘Shiqian yuzhuo mianmianguan [Understanding Ancient Jade Bangles from Multiple Perspectives],’ in Jade Soul and the National Spirit: Selected Papers from the Academic Conference on Ancient Chinese Jade and Traditional Culture, vol. 5, Hangzhou, 2012, pp. 275-281, fig. 1:1. These figures are believed to represent deities or shamans, symbolizing great spiritual power (see Jenny F. So, Chinese Jades from the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection, Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, 2015, p. 67).

Pendants of this type are among the Shang dynasty jade artifacts discovered in the Tomb of Fu Hao, located at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang capital, now within modern Anyang in Henan Province, China. Discovered in 1976 by archaeologist Zheng Zhenxiang, the tomb was identified as the final resting place of Queen and military general Fu Hao, who died around 1200 BC. Likely the Lady Hao mentioned in oracle bone inscriptions by King Wu Ding, Fu Hao was one of his many wives. The tomb's excavation revealed 755 jade objects, including not only contemporary Shang pieces but also jades from the Longshan, Liangzhu, Hongshan, and Shijiahe cultures. Remarkably, it is the only Shang royal tomb found intact, with its contents undisturbed, likely due to its remote location, far from other known burial sites.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade figural pendant of similar flattened form unearthed from the tomb of Lady Hao, dated ca. 1200 BC, exhibited in the National Museum of China in Beijing. Compare two related jade figures, each 7 cm high and dated to the 10 century BC, in the British Museum, accession numbers 1945,1017.38 and -.39.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2023, lot 3790
Price: HKD 13,760,000 or approx. EUR 1,619,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An extremely rare pale celadon jade 'kneeling human' ornament, mid - late Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject with similar pose of hands bent in front of the chest, flattened yet curved form, and size (7.4 cm). Note also the incision work, albeit with geometric motifs, and color of the jade.

 

China, c. 1200 BC. Of flattened form, finely carved as a standing figure with the hands bent in front of the chest. The face with large round eyes, a broad nose, and full oval lips opened to reveal minutely incised teeth. The figure is wearing heavy robes with neatly detailed pleats along the legs and an elaborate headdress with extensions hanging down along the side of the head.

The translucent jade is of a fine white hue with pale yellow and brown shadings and dark specks.

Provenance: From the collection of David Taylor (1876-1958), passed down through the Taylor family to his descendants. David Taylor (1876-1958), a prominent British businessman based in Belfast, owned several commercial properties and a substantial portfolio of stocks and shares. During his travels to East Asia in the early 20th century, he acquired numerous jades, including the present lot. His grandfather, Sir David Taylor (1815-1904), was born in Perth, Scotland, and relocated to Belfast in 1842, where he served as mayor in 1867, and again in 1883 and 1884.
Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Ancient wear, signs of weathering and erosion, soil encrustations suggesting a prolonged period of burial, and minor nibbling to edges.

Weight: 34.9 g
Dimensions: Height 7.9 cm

Jade carvings with humanoid figures are quite rare among Shang dynasty artifacts. The distinct pose of hands bent in front of the chest, as seen in this piece, can be traced back to earlier jade carvings from the Neolithic period. Examples include a jade standing figure from the Niuheliang site in Liaoning province, illustrated in Niuheliang – Hongshan wenhua yizhi fajue baogao (1983-2003) [Niuheliang: Archaeological Report of the Hongshan Culture Site], Beijing, 2012, vol. 2, no. 73, and another jade figure from the Lingjiatan site in Anhui province, illustrated in Jenny F. So's article, ‘Shiqian yuzhuo mianmianguan [Understanding Ancient Jade Bangles from Multiple Perspectives],’ in Jade Soul and the National Spirit: Selected Papers from the Academic Conference on Ancient Chinese Jade and Traditional Culture, vol. 5, Hangzhou, 2012, pp. 275-281, fig. 1:1. These figures are believed to represent deities or shamans, symbolizing great spiritual power (see Jenny F. So, Chinese Jades from the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection, Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, 2015, p. 67).

Pendants of this type are among the Shang dynasty jade artifacts discovered in the Tomb of Fu Hao, located at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang capital, now within modern Anyang in Henan Province, China. Discovered in 1976 by archaeologist Zheng Zhenxiang, the tomb was identified as the final resting place of Queen and military general Fu Hao, who died around 1200 BC. Likely the Lady Hao mentioned in oracle bone inscriptions by King Wu Ding, Fu Hao was one of his many wives. The tomb's excavation revealed 755 jade objects, including not only contemporary Shang pieces but also jades from the Longshan, Liangzhu, Hongshan, and Shijiahe cultures. Remarkably, it is the only Shang royal tomb found intact, with its contents undisturbed, likely due to its remote location, far from other known burial sites.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade figural pendant of similar flattened form unearthed from the tomb of Lady Hao, dated ca. 1200 BC, exhibited in the National Museum of China in Beijing. Compare two related jade figures, each 7 cm high and dated to the 10 century BC, in the British Museum, accession numbers 1945,1017.38 and -.39.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2023, lot 3790
Price: HKD 13,760,000 or approx. EUR 1,619,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An extremely rare pale celadon jade 'kneeling human' ornament, mid - late Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject with similar pose of hands bent in front of the chest, flattened yet curved form, and size (7.4 cm). Note also the incision work, albeit with geometric motifs, and color of the jade.

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