A RARE ARCHAISTIC 'SHANG BRONZE IMITATION' JADE VESSEL, ZHI, LATE SONG TO EARLY MING DYNASTY China, 13^th-15^th century. Of flattened form, the pear-shaped body rising from a spreading foot carved with a raised bow-string band, the waisted neck with archaistic dragons and whorl motifs. The semi-translucent stone of a pale celadon tone with russet veins, cloudy inclusions, and few dark specks, mostly reserved to one side of the vessel which has been further heightened with cinnabar lacquer (extremely rare) to imitate the natural patina of the bronze prototype, cleverly presenting the archaistic jade to one side and its ancient inspiration to the other.

Exhibited: On loan to the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, September 1973 to September 1980.

Provenance: From the collection of William S. Arnett, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, acquired prior to 1971, and thence by descent within the same family. William Sydney Arnett (1939-2020) was an Atlanta-based writer, editor, curator, and art collector who built an internationally important collection of African, Asian, and African-American art. In 1978, he co-authored the Three Rivers of Nigeria exhibition catalog for Atlanta's High Museum of Art. As Arnett's collection of African-American art grew, he became convinced that the so-called folk or outsider artists of the black American South were in fact a coherent cultural movement and constituted a crucial chapter in world art. He spent decades gathering extensive documentation and amassing a near-definitive collection of work crucial to the understanding of this cultural phenomenon.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor old wear from centuries of handling. Some minuscule nibbling is probably part of the simulated overall wear inherent to the original carving. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 127.1 g
Dimensions: Height 8.3 cm

With a velvet-padded silk storage box. (2)

The present vessel was inspired by an archaic ritual bronze prototype, zhi, which contained wine offerings presented to the ancestors during the performance of religious rituals.

The interest of Chinese scholars in ancient artifacts can be traced back to antiquity, but the study of these artifacts, known as antiquarianism or jinshixue 金石學, literally meaning 'the study of metals and stones,' first developed during the Northern Song dynasty. The practice of collecting precious objects was spreading through China as well, and many lost pieces from the Shang dynasty and later were found at building sites. Song scholars established a formal system of dating these artifacts by examining their inscriptions, decorative motif styles, and physical shapes, introducing terms such as taotie which are still in use today. Two works of this period, the Kaogu tu by Lü Dalin and the Bogu tu by Wang Fu, were especially influential on later artists. Along with many other illustrated catalogs they were reprinted during the Ming and Qing dynasties, inspiring the production of archaic style bronzes and jades.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade zhi in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, dated to the Song dynasty, decorated with a similar band and bowstring, accession number 16.10.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1 December 2016, lot 568
Price: HKD 437,500 or approx. EUR 59,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A small light brown jade miniature archaistic vase, hu, Song dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration as well as related size (7.2 cm). Note the different color of the jade and that the vessel form was incorrectly identified as a hu.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 11 May 2021, lot 137
Price: GBP 25,250 or approx. EUR 30,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaistic white jade vessel, zhi, Ming dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related form and size (9 cm) as well as the similar inclusions to the jade. Note the slightly different decoration.


宋末至明初罕見仿商青銅酒杯玉觶
中國，十三至十五世紀。小瓶狀，圓腹，侈口，圈足。頸部飾有螭龍和雲紋。半透明的淡青色玉，帶有赤褐色的脈紋和絮狀物以及少量黑色斑點，大部分聚集在玉觶一側，並用硃砂（極為罕見）進一步加強，模仿青銅的自然光澤。

展覽: High Museum of Art，亞特蘭大，1973年9月至1980年9月。

來源：美國佐治亞州William S. Arnett 收藏，購於1971年前, 在同一家族保存至今。William Sydney Arnett (1939-2020) 曾是亞特蘭大的作家、編輯、策展人和藝術收藏家。他建立了國際重要的非洲、亞洲和非裔美國人藝術收藏品。1978 年，他與亞特蘭大高等藝術博物館合著了尼日利亞三河展覽目錄。隨著Arnett對非裔美國人藝術收藏的瞭解，他確信美國南部黑人所謂的民間或外來藝術家實際上是一場連貫的文化運動，構成了世界藝術的重要組成部分。他花了幾十年的時間收集大量資料，並積累了對理解這種文化現象至關重要的近乎權威的文獻。
品相：狀況極佳，略有磨損。一些微小的磕損可能是原始雕刻所固有的，是模擬青銅磨損的一部分。玉料有天然紋理，隨著時間的推移，其中一些可能已經發展成細小的細裂縫。

重量：127.1 克
尺寸：高8.3 厘米

内襯絲質的盒子。(2)

這件器皿的靈感來自一個青銅禮器原型觶，在進行祭祀儀式時用於祭酒。中國文人對古代器物的興趣可以追溯到古代。對於這些器物的研究，被稱為古物學或金石學，字面意思是“研究金屬和石頭”，最早是在北宋時期發展起來的。收藏貴重物品的做法也在中國傳播開來。宋代文人通過考察這些器物的銘文、裝飾圖案樣式和形狀，建立了有系統的古器圖錄。北宋金石學著作如呂大臨的《考古圖》和宋徽宗敕撰，王黼編纂的《博古圖》，對後世的藝術家影響尤其大。明清時期，它們與許多其他插圖目錄一起被重印，推動了古代青銅器和玉器的製作。

文獻比較：
比較一件非常相近的宋代玉觶，飾有相似的紋帶和圈足，收藏於明尼阿波利斯藝術學院，編號16.10。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2016年12月1日，lot 568
價格：HKD 437,500（相當於今日EUR 59,000）
描述：宋代小型淺棕仿古玉壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的形式和裝飾，以及尺寸（7.2厘米）。請注意玉石的顏色不同，而且此玉器被錯誤地認定為壺。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦邦瀚斯，2021年5月11日，lot 137
價格：GBP 25,250（相當於今日EUR 30,000）
描述：明白玉雕仿古饕餮紋觶
專家評論：比較相似的形式和尺寸（9厘米），以及天然內沁。請注意玉器裝飾略有不同。