- 20
Poignard cérémoniel en jade calcifié, Ge Dynastie Shang, ca. 1600-1200 avant J.-C.
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 EUR
bidding is closed
Description
- Jade
- Long. 12,5 cm
la pierre puissamment sculptée en forme de lame asymétrique, plat, un côté latéral droit, tous les autres obliques, la partie haute percée en son centre d'un petit trou encadré de trois très légères arêtes rainurées rapprochées, la lame se terminant en une pointe acérée, la pierre crème au doux poli ponctuée de taches blanchâtres et grises, D.W 3291
Exhibited
Arts de La Chine Ancienne, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, 1937, no. 82.
Literature
Georges Salles, Arts de La Chine Ancienne, Paris, 1937, cat. no. 82 (not illustrated).
Condition
The dagger-axe is in overall very good condition. It is thinly and finely carved, the stone polished on both sides. The small hole has been drilled from both sides. The stone is a pale buff tone with some lighter areas. The inventory number is inscribed in black on the edge below the butt of the piece.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The present dagger is unusual as it does not follow the form of a bronze dagger like other examples. Its form is comparatively awkward being short and wide at the same time with a pointed blade and handle/butt. Unlike other jade daggers it has no defined tang and three sets of striated teeth mark the tang flanking a small hole drilled from one side. The unusual form suggest that this piece may have been carved from a much larger but broken jade dagger.
A jade dagger of similar form was found among the jades in the tomb of Fu Hao, ca. 1200 BC, at Anyang, published in Yinxu yuqi, Beijing, 1982, fig. 23. Another example that shares the sets of striated teeth at the base of the blade is in Winthrop Collection, illustrated in Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1975, no. 57. Compare a second calcified jade blade with an unusual handle also from the Winthrop Collection, ibid., no. 58. Yet another related dagger-axe formerly in the Collection of Alfred F. Pillsbury, is illustrated in Kosaku Hamada, Early Chinese Jades in the Collection of Riichi Uyeno, Kyoto, 1926, pl. IX, no. 19.
A jade dagger of similar form was found among the jades in the tomb of Fu Hao, ca. 1200 BC, at Anyang, published in Yinxu yuqi, Beijing, 1982, fig. 23. Another example that shares the sets of striated teeth at the base of the blade is in Winthrop Collection, illustrated in Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1975, no. 57. Compare a second calcified jade blade with an unusual handle also from the Winthrop Collection, ibid., no. 58. Yet another related dagger-axe formerly in the Collection of Alfred F. Pillsbury, is illustrated in Kosaku Hamada, Early Chinese Jades in the Collection of Riichi Uyeno, Kyoto, 1926, pl. IX, no. 19.