A pair of inscribed mottled jade rectangular beads, gangmao, Han dynasty | 漢　玉剛卯一對

Dragon House Antiques, San Francisco

An Asian private collection, acquired from the above during late 1990s.

Beads of this type, known as gangmao, were popular amulets during the Han dynasty and are distinguished by their rectangular form and inscriptions. While commonly made of jade, gangmao were also crafted from other materials, including ivory, gold, and wood. The inscriptions on gangmao typically ranged from twenty-eight to thirty-two characters, often derived from a thirty-four-character text intended to ward off evils and bring protection. These inscriptions reflect the spiritual practices of the Han dynasty and were associated with specific ritualistic production times, which is between the hour of mao (5:00-7:00 am) on the cyclical day of mao in the first month of the year. Due to the brevity of this production window, many gangmao are inscribed with simplified or substituted characters, often making them difficult to decipher.

The present pair, with its finely incised and well-proportioned inscriptions, demonstrates the artistry and ingenuity of carvers during the Han dynasty. For a closely related gangmao of Eastern Han date, see the example excavated from the tomb of Houcun, Jingxian, Hebei province, illustrated by Gu Fang in The Complete Collection of Unearthed Jades in China, vol. 1, Beijing, 2005, p. 220.

來源

Dragon House Antiques，三藩市

亞洲私人收藏，於1990年代晚期由以上獲得

「剛卯」古人佩戴於身作辟邪的護身符，在漢代廣泛流行，以矩形造型及刻文為其特色。玉剛卯除了以玉材製成外，亦見於其他材質，包括象牙、黃金及木頭。其銘文通常由二十八至三十二個字組成，多源於具有三十四字內容的護身咒語，旨在驅邪避兇，保佑平安。這些銘文體現了漢代的宗教信仰，並且與特定的生產時間相關，即在農曆一月「卯」日的「卯」時（早晨5時至7時）之間製作。由於製作時間的緊迫，多數剛卯的刻字筆劃簡化或代用，因此常難以辨識。

此對玉剛卯刻工精細，銘文比例協調，展現了漢代工匠的巧思與技藝。可參考河北省涇縣侯村東漢墓出土的類似玉剛卯，見古方《中國出土玉器全集》，卷一，北京，2005年，220頁。