Jade. China, Late Neolithic period, Hongshan culture, c.3500-2500 BC 鳥形玉玦 - 新石器時代晚期, 紅山文化, 約公元前3500-2500年 This is a very rare and unusual Hongshan jade with only one other known excavated example. Although the carving looks like a much coarser version of the zhulong 猪龍 or dragon-shaped jades (see the previous lot no.1), it exhibits some differences that have prompted Chinese archaeologists to describe this type of carving as “a jade slit ring shaped like a bird” (niao xing yu jue鳥形玉玦). The basic form conforms to the typical c-shape of the zhulong jades but it also presents some interesting variations in the head and on the back. The eyes are designated with simple carved concentric circles and the almost beak-like snout is pronounced and stepped. Another major difference between this carving and the coiled dragons are the two pointed ridges that protrude from the back, one behind the head, next to the small suspension hole, and the other in the bottom part of the body. The jade is a dull green with various darker, almost blackish sections and areas of mottled brown and white due to alterations in the stone over time. As mentioned above, the only known comparable example has come to light from a Hongshan site excavated at Narixingtai, Inner Mongolia: see Zhang Shuwei and Li Xiangdong (eds.), Shikong chuanyue: Hongshan wenhua chutu yuqi jing pin zhan 時空穿越:紅山文化出土玉器精品展 (Through time and space: Unearthed jade articles of the Hongshan Culture), Beijing 2012, pp.12-13; and Gu Fang, Zhongguo gu yuqi tu dian 中國古玉器圖典 (The pictorial handbook of ancient Chinese jades), Beijing 2007, p.54. Provenance: From an Italian private collection, Babuino auction house, Rome, 15 December 2017, lot no.622. LENGTH 5.5 CM - WIDTH 4.5 CM 長5.5 厘米 -寬4.5 厘米 Expertise: Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and dated by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.