Lot 3407
  • 3407

A WHITE JADE SHIELD-FORM PENDANT WESTERN HAN DYNASTY |

Estimate
600,000 - 800,000 HKD
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Description

  • 7.1 by 4 by 0.5 cm, 2  3/4  by 1  5/8  by  1/4  in.
superbly worked after the ancient archer's ring, the pendant rendered with a shield surrounded by openwork stylised intertwining scrolls, including one with tapering end flaring outwards, the shield centred with an aperture, one side with a convex surface and decorated with a scrolling wave design, the flat reverse incised with scrolls containing hooks and barbs, the translucent stone of an even white colour accentuated with pale brown inclusions to one edge

Provenance

Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo.
Christie's New York, 26th March 2003, lot 31.
Alvin Lo Oriental Art Ltd, New York, 2003.

Literature

Robert P. Youngman, The Youngman Collection of Chinese Jades from Neolithic to Qing, Chicago, 2008, pl. 72.

Condition

The pendant is in very good condition, with only minute nibbling along the edges and 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. 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 form of this pendant, which evolved from an ancient archer's ring, consists of a shield shape enclosed within a dense arrangement of open-worked scrolls, one of which tapers to a long curved tip. For another similar but smaller example, dated to the Eastern Zhou period, see C. T. Loo, An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades held at the Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1950, cat. no. 4.