A pale celadon jade sword chape, Eastern Zhou dynasty, late Warring States period - early Western Han dynasty | 東周戰國晚期至西漢早期 淺青白玉劍珌

Jenny F. So, Chinese Jades from the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, Hong Kong, 2015, cat. no. 23d.

蘇芳淑，《玉澤恆輝：喜聞過齋藏玉》，香港中文大學文物館，香港，2015年，編號23d

The present lot belongs to one of the four types of jade sword accessories, known as yujujian or ‘sword decorating jades’, which emerged during the 5th century BC together with the fully developed sword and its recognition as a status symbol among the ruling elite. This jade chape is not attached directly to the sword, but to the bottom of the wood, bamboo, or leather scabbard. Compare a related example in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese jades], Hebei, 2005, no. 91.

玉珌為安裝於劍鞘底端的飾件，可保護鞘尾，與劍格、玉璏和玉劍首同為玉具劍上的裝飾品，統稱為玉劍飾或玉具劍，始於東周，流行於西漢，多為王宮貴族使用，以顯示身份及地位。此劍飾呈梯形，兩邊出戢，亦或可能用作玉劍首，參看江蘇省六合縣程橋 2 號墓出的土一件春秋晚期的蟠螭紋玉劍首，現藏於南京博物院，亦為立體長方形，兩側各有三道凹槽，著錄於於楊伯達，《中國玉器全集》，河北，2005 年，編號 91。