Lot 116B
East Asia, China, Hongshan Culture, ca. 3500 to 2500 BCE. A rare and evocative figural carving from the Hongshan culture, worked from mottled green and cream nephrite jade. The figure is boldly abstracted yet distinctly anthropomorphic, depicted in a rigid frontal pose with elongated legs and squared shoulders. The arms are folded across the chest, the torso pierced laterally through the arms with drilled holes, perhaps intended for suspension or ritual binding. The facial features are schematized, with a prominent brow ridge, nose, and incised lines suggesting eyes and mouth, topped by a flattened crown-like head. The surface bears a variegated patina with calcified encrustations, the result of long burial, which lends the carving a tactile depth and mottled coloration ranging from deep olive to creamy beige. Such figural works are exceedingly scarce within the Hongshan tradition, which is more widely celebrated for its ritual jades in the form of cong, bi, and animal effigies. Size: 0.7" W x 2.6" H (1.8 cm x 6.6 cm)
Figures such as this are believed to embody spiritual or shamanic significance, possibly representing ancestral spirits or intermediaries between human and divine realms. The Hongshan culture, centered in the Liao River valley of northeastern China, is among the earliest Chinese Neolithic societies to work jade with both symbolic and ritual intent. This carving reflects their mastery of jade carving with primitive tools, producing works of striking conceptual power despite their simplicity of form.
Provenance: private Thousand Oaks, California, USA collection, acquired April 28, 2007; ex-Terry Dale collection
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#193528
- Condition: Weathering to surface commensurate with age, but, otherwise, intact and excellent. Trace remaining detail.
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