A PALE GREEN JADE ‘PIG-DRAGON’, ZHULONG, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, HONGSHAN CULTURE
China, c. 4000-3000 BC. Of iconic form with a coiled body and superbly rendered head, subtly detailed with round eyes, a wrinkled snout, and flared nostrils, the neck pierced with an aperture for suspension. The partly translucent, smoothly polished stone of a pale green color with russet patches, cloudy inclusions, and dark veins.


Provenance:
From an old private collection in Budapest, Hungary, acquired during the first half of the 20th century.

Condition:
Good condition with expected old wear, traces of use, natural erosion, and minuscule nibbling here and there.

Weight: 86 g
Dimensions: Diameter 6.2 cm


Considered to represent the prototype
of depictions of mythological dragons in later Chinese art, Zhulong are some of the most interesting creations of the Hongshan culture, and evidence the existence of a complex belief system in supernatural forces. Jade Zhulong have been recovered at various tomb sites in Northern China, often placed on the chest of the tomb occupants, suggesting they were worn as chest ornaments.


Literature comparison:

For other examples of pig-dragons carved in a similar style with a single aperture, compare with a dark green jade example, 16.6 cm high, unearthed from Yangcheng, Bairin Right Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, now in the Bairin Right Banner Museum, illustrated ibid., p. 105, no. 9; a celadon one, 15 cm high, in the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics, illustrated in Hongshan wenhua yuqi jianshang, Beijing, 2014, p. 94, no. 1; and a third example, 13 cm high, from the Irving Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1180.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 83
Price: EUR 327,100 or approx.
EUR 363,000
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important celadon and russet jade ‘pig-dragon’, Zhulong, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture
Expert remark: Note the size of this Zhulong (8.5 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 79
Price: EUR 50,400 or approx.
EUR 56,000
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare and subtly carved celadon jade ‘pig-dragon’, Zhulong, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture
Expert remark: Compare the size (6 cm).




新石器時代紅山文化青白玉豬龍


中國，西元前 4000-3000 年。描繪的是一條盤踞的 "豬龍"，切口代表動物的嘴，而切口上方的雕刻線條則顯示了豬的鼻子，圓鼓鼓的眼睛被一個大的凹槽突出並包圍著，背面有一個穿孔，作為懸掛孔。半透明的玉料，拋光良好，呈淡青色，有少量斑駁的白色絮狀物。


來源：
匈牙利布達佩斯私人舊藏，購於上世紀上半葉。

品相：
品相良好，有磨損和使用痕跡、自然侵蝕，到處都是微小的嗑損。

重量：86 克
尺寸：直徑 6.2 釐米


豬龍
是中國藝術中龍的原型，它是紅山文化中最有趣的創作之一，顯示了對超自然力量的複雜信仰體系的存在。中國北方多處墓葬出土玉豬龍，多置於墓主胸前，推測為胸飾。


文獻比較：

類似風格的單孔豬龍玉件，與內蒙古自治區巴林右旗陽城出土的深綠色玉石，高16.6厘米，現藏白林右旗博物館相比， 插圖同上，頁105，編號9； 一件青玉，高15厘米，遼寧省考古文物研究所藏，圖見《紅山文化玉器鑑賞》，北京，2014年，頁94，編號1。第三件玉器高 13 厘米，來自歐文收藏，於 2019 年 3 月 21 日在紐約佳士得拍賣行售出，lot 1180。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：巴黎蘇富比，2021年6月10日，lot 83
價格：EUR 327,100（相當於今日
EUR 363,000
）
描述：新石器時代紅山文化青白玉豬龍
專家評論：請注意豬龍的尺寸 (8.5厘米)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：巴黎蘇富比， 2021年6月10日, lot 79
價格：EUR 50,400（相當於今日
EUR 56,000
）
描述：新石器時代紅山文化青白玉豬龍
專家評論：比較尺寸(6厘米)。