A rare and large yellowish-celadon jade bird-shaped pendant, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture | 新時期時代 紅山文化 青黃玉大玉鷹

A Hong Kong private collection, assembled during the 1970-80s, by repute.

傳香港私人收藏，1970至80年代集成

Naturalistically carved with bulging eyes, hooked beak, and the lack of ears, the present jade pendent is well modelled in the form of a hawk-like bird. The masterful craftsmanship is evident in the hawk-like head, exquisitely modelled with precision. The exceptionally elongated tail serves as compelling evidence supporting the theory of a hawk's apotheosis into a phoenix, see Guo Dashun, 'Dragon and Phoenix - A study of the significance of Liaohe region from Hongshan dragon and bird jade carvings', in Wenhua Xuekan, Liaoning, 2006, pp.15-24

黃綠色玉料，體量較大，製作精湛，腹部網格紋與雙翅平行紋簡練明快，作品超越一般裝飾風格玉飾，具有「神徽」化特點，是高度複雜的文明中抽象概念形成并且標志化的表徵。玉鷹首部形象清晰，凸眼，無耳，彎鈎形喙，論頭部應屬鷹類，而長尾較為突出，似乎為當代研究紅山文化學者「鷹已神化為鳳」的推測提供了一實物根據，見郭大順，〈龍鳳呈祥──從紅山文化龍鳳玉雕看遼河流域在中國文化起源史上的地位〉，刊於《文化學刊》，遼寧2006 年，頁 15–24。