AN ARCHAIC JADE CEREMONIAL AXE, YUE Neolithic Period, 3rd millennium BCTHE PROPERTY OF A BRITISH FAMILY英國家族藏品AN ARCHAIC JADE CEREMONIAL AXE, YUENeolithic Period, 3rd millennium BCCarved with a slightly domed surface on both sides and a bevelled cutting edge on one end opposite to the narrower side pierced from both sides, the stone of olive-green tone with lighter green, white and beige veining. 18cm (7in) long.新石器時代(約公元前三千年) 玉鉞Provenance: The Idemitsu Collection, TokyoRoger Keverne Ltd., LondonA British private collection, acquired from the above on 8 June 2006Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Japan, 1989, no.107Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 2004 no.64來源：東京出光美術館舊藏倫敦古董商 Roger Keverne Ltd.英國私人收藏2006年6月8日從上處購得展覽著錄：《中國的工藝：出光美術館藏品目錄》，日本，1989年，編號107Roger Keverne Ltd.，《夏季展覽》，倫敦，2004年，編號64The present lot, a jade axe, was demonstrably an important ritual object as an embodiment of power and social status. See a related jade axe, Neolithic period, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.170, no.10:2. Compare with a related dark green jade axe, Neolithic period, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 November 2019, lot 2717sold_price_type: £