A large mottled green jade ceremonial axe, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture | 新時期時代 良渚文化 大玉鉞

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，2000年代

This jade axe is exceptional for the richly varied colours of the stone and the simple yet powerful silhouette. Originally a pale translucent green, the surface of this axe is now mottled dark green with traces of rust and covered with a white webbing contrasting strikingly with the semi-translucent green colour of the jade stone. It retains a smooth shiny polish that is only slightly diminished by time.

Jade axe such as the present lot is much rarer than bi disc or even the cong tube, as it is seemingly reserved for only the most elite tombs and there is usually only one such axe found in each of these tombs. For example, see a closely related jade axe excavated at the Fanshan site in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where the tomb contains hundreds of jade and stone wares including jade cong, bi and stone axe but only one axe made from jade, see Quanli yu xinyang: liangzhu yizhi kaogu tezhan (Power and Belief: A Special Exhibition of Liangzhu Archaeological Excavation Sites), Beijing, 2015, pp.169-179. See other replated examples of jade axe with similar shapes, see The Complete Collection of Unearthed Jades in China, vol.7, Beijing, 2005, p.15 and ibid. vol.8 pp.44, 110 and 137.

青綠色玉，體形扁薄，表附乳白色網狀紋，微曲的正反兩面交會成優美的外輪廓綫條，背面有明顯切割綫痕，通體光亮。這件作品無論從玉質晶瑩通透的選材，體形碩大，外延曲綫的優美，到細緻的抛光，都顯示出其出身不凡的特徵。玉鉞的稀有程度，由浙江省杭州市余杭區反山遺址M20大墓出土情況可見一斑。該墓出土數百件玉器，其中包括4件精美的玉琮、43件玉璧以及24件石鉞，而玉鉞則只有一件，見《權力與信仰：良渚遺址群考古特展》，北京，2015年，頁169-179。另見尺寸及形製類似的四例，《中國出土玉器全集7：江蘇、上海》，北京，2005年，頁15，及《中國出土玉器全集8：浙江》，北京，2005年，頁44、110及137。