Lot 104
  • 104

A RARE CALCIFIED JADE MINIATURE 'DOUBLE-DAGGER' PENDANTSHANG/WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY |

Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
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Description

  • Length 3 3/8  in., 8.7 cm
each blade following the form of a ge dagger, one slightly longer than the other, the beveled surface of each with three ridges extending to the slightly curved tapered tips, the center of the toothed tang pierced, joined together along a short strip of the adjacent edges

Provenance

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Literature

Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade Through the Wei Dynasty, New York, 1963, pl. IV, fig. 4.

Condition

The two blades have been reattached together; otherwise each blade is in overall good condition with expected minute nicks to the extremities.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Miniature blade-shaped pendants were produced and used during both the Shang and Zhou dynasties and a number have been discovered in tombs in the western sector of Anyang and in the ancient Yu state near Baoji, and display many of the same features of the full-sized ge, including a raised central rib, beveled edges and an asymmetrical tip. Miniature double-ge pendants are relatively rare, however, Compare one formerly in the collection of A.W. Bahr, illustrated in Alfred Salmony, Carved Jade of Ancient China, Berkeley, California, 1938, pl. VII, fig. 4. Another from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Harvard Art Museums was included in the exhibition, Ancient Chinese Jades, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1975, cat. no. 68. A pendant in the form of a single ge blade was included in the exhibition Early Chinese Miniatures, China House Gallery, New York, 1977, cat. no. 20, and was later sold in these rooms, 6th December 1983, lot. 153.