A PALE YELLOW JADE DOUBLE-HOLE ORNAMENT PLAQUE, HONGSHAN CULTURE
China, Neolithic period, 3500-2500 BC. With two primary perforations, the two semi-circular shapes connect in the middle. Four funnel shaped piercings, two on each half, drilled through for suspension. The smoothly polished, translucent stone is of a fine pale-yellow and celadon tone with russet and chestnut-brown inclusions. Areas of opaque creamy-white calcifications interspersed with gray speckles.


Provenance:
Collection of Harry Geoffrey Beasley and thence by descent to his widow Irene Beasley. Collection of Alfred William Cowperthwaite, acquired from the above c. 1939 and thence by descent in the same family. Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939) was a British anthropologist and museum curator who developed an important ethnographic collection during the early 20th century that is now held in various British museums. With his wife Irene, Beasley set up the Cranmore Ethnographical Museum which eventually held more than 6,000 objects of ethnographical interest. The Beasleys collected objects from across Europe, buying from auction houses and local museums to expand the collection, which contained material from the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and Northwestern America. Beasley wrote numerous articles for anthropological journals and was considered an expert in his field. He died in 1939 and his collection was stored with the British Museum collections during the war, which was fortunate, as the Cranmore Museum was destroyed by bombing. After the war, substantial portions of the collection were passed to the British Museum, the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of Cambridge, the Pitt Rivers Museum, and the Merseyside County Museum. Other pieces, such as the present lot, were sold by his widow and, after her death in 1974, by their daughters. Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964) was a contributor to the Cranmore Museum and became good friends with Harry Beasley. Shortly after Harry Beasley’s death, he acquired a number of objects from Irene Beasley, including the present lot.

Condition:
Very good condition, commensurate with age, with expected wear and minor weathering, small nicks which have smoothened over time. The stone with natural inclusions and fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 70.6 g
Dimensions: Length 13.5 cm

With an associated metal stand. (2)


This type of jade plaque
, initially modelled with only two perforations, is believed to originate from the Xinkailiu culture (c. 5300-4800 BC) and continued to be produced in subsequent Northeast prehistoric sites including those of the Hongshan culture.


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related jade pendant, dated to the late Neolithic period, see the Complete Collection of Jade Unearthed in China, Volume 2, page 210. Compare a related pendant in the form of a disk, 11.1 cm, dated to the Neolithic period, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S2012.9.66.


Auction result comparison:


Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2020, lot 35
Price: HKD 226,800 or approx.
EUR 29,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A celadon jade three-hole plaque, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture
Expert remark: Compare the related form and color of the jade. Note the three apertures and smaller size (8.8 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 88
Price: 11,340 or approx.
EUR 12,000
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A calcified jade double-holed ornament, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture
Expert remark: Note the similar shape and two primary perforations. Note the smaller size (7.6 cm).




紅山文化雙孔青玉雙聯玉璧


中國，新石器時代，西元前3500-2500 年。有兩個主要穿孔，四個小孔，用於懸掛。表面光滑，半透明玉石呈精美的淺黃色和青白色，帶有赤褐色和栗棕色內沁，不透明的乳白色鈣化區域散佈著灰色斑點。


來源：
Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939)收藏，他逝世后由其遺孀Irene Beasley保存；Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964)，約於1939年購於上述收藏，之後在同一家族保存至今。Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939) 是一位英國人類學家和博物館館長，他在二十世紀初建立了一個重要的民族志收藏，現在收藏在英國的各個博物館中。Beasley和他的妻子Irene一起建立了Cranmore民族志博物館，該博物館最終收藏了 6,000 多件民族志方面的物品。Beasley 收集了來自歐洲各地的物品，從拍賣行和當地博物館購買以擴大收藏範圍，其中包含來自太平洋、亞洲、非洲和美國西北部的資料。Beasley為人類學期刊撰寫了大量文章，被公認爲是該領域的專家。他於 1939 年去世，他的藏品幸虧在戰爭期間被存放在大英博物館裏，而Cranmore博物館被轟炸摧毀。戰後，大部分藏品被轉移到大英博物館、愛丁堡皇家博物館、劍橋大學考古與人類學博物館、Pitt Rivers博物館和Merseyside County博物館。其他收藏，例如現在的拍品，由他的遺孀出售，在她 1974 年去世後，由他們的女兒出售。Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964) 曾是Cranmore 民族志博物館重要支持人，也曾是 Harry Beasley的好友。在Harry Beasley去世不久，他從Irene Beasley 處購買了一些收藏，包括此件拍品。

品相：
狀況非常好，有磨損和輕微風化，局部劃痕已平滑，具有天然內沁和裂縫的玉石，其中一些可能隨著時間的推移發展成細小的裂縫。

重量：70.6 克
尺寸：長 13.5 厘米

金屬支架 (2)

這種玉匾最初只有兩個穿孔，據信起源於新開流文化（約公元前5300-4800年），並在隨後的東北史前遺址（包括紅山文化）中繼續生產。


文獻比較:

比較一件非常相近的新石器時代玉佩，見《中國出土玉器全集》，卷二，頁210。比較一件相近的新石器時代玉碟，11.1 厘米，收藏於史密森學會國立亞洲藝術博物館，館藏編號S2012.9.66。


拍賣結果比較:

形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2020年10月9日，lot 35
價格：HKD 226,800（相當於今日
EUR 29,000
）
描述：新石器時代紅山文化青白玉三聯璧
專家評論：比較相近的外形和玉石顏色。請注意有三個孔和尺寸較小 (8.8 厘米)。


拍賣結果比較:

形制：相近
拍賣：巴黎蘇富比，2021年6月10日，lot 88
價格：EUR11,340（相當於今日
EUR 12,000
）
描述：新石器時代紅山文化雙聯玉璧
專家評論：請注意相似的外形和兩個穿孔。請注意尺寸較小 (7.6 厘米)。