AN ARCHAIC CEREMONIAL JADE BLADE, YUE, NEOLITHIC PERIOD TO SHANG DYNASTY

Published:

Henry Trubner and Tsugio Mikami, Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, no. 108.
Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2004, no. 86.

China, c. 3500-1500 BC. The slender slab tapers toward the back where there is a small hole drilled from one side. One long edge and the cutting edge are beveled, and now slightly worn. A longitudinal rib made by the saw runs along one face. The translucent stone is a deep olive-green tone.


Provenance:
Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo, Japan, prior to 1989. Roger Keverne, London, United Kingdom, 2004. Private English collection, acquired from the above. The Idemitsu Museum of Arts was opened in 1966 as an exhibition hall for the private collection of Idemitsu Sazo. Idemitsu Sazo (1885-1981) was a Japanese businessman, founder of Idemitsu Kosan, a petroleum company, and an important art collector. He acquired his first work of art at the age of 20, which was a painting of the Chinese monk Putai by Sengai Gibon. In later years, his collection grew, culminating in a large number of Chinese ceramics, paintings, jades, and other works of art. Roger Keverne served as the Chairman of Asian Art in London and as the President of BADA. He began his 50-year career with Spink & Son, rising to head the Asian department by the age of only 28. He left Spink in 1992 to start his own gallery together with Miranda Clarke, his wife and business partner, in Mayfair, London, which eventually closed its doors in June 2020.

Condition:
Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Ancient wear, minor signs of weathering and erosion, tiny nibbles. Minute chips to edges, one at the top has been smoothened probably millennia ago. The jade with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 68.1 g
Dimensions: Length 16.7 cm


Literature comparison:

Compare a related jade blade in The Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, The Panlongcheng Site: Report of Archaeological Excavation from 1963-1994, pl. CXVII, fig. 6. Compare a related jade blade illustrated in Liu and Capon’s book Masks of Mystery: Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Sanxingdui, no. 36, p. 104. Compare a related jade blade excavated by the Institute of Archaeology, CASS, illustrated in Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, pl. 20, fig, 1. Compare a closely related jade blade, 19.5 cm long, dated to the Neolithic period, in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, accession number 1943.50.113, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Jades from the Greenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, no. 1, pp. 4-5. Compare a related jade blade illustrated ibid., no. 202, pp. 159.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2019, lot 2717
Price: HKD 81,250 or approx.
EUR 10,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A dark green jade axe, Neolithic period, circa 3500 BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and color as well as the similar wear. Note the larger size (28.8 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2015, lot 545
Price: USD 16,250 or approx.
EUR 19,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A mottled, blackish-green opaque jade axe, late Neolithic period, 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the related form. Note the darker color and the larger size (23.8 cm).





新石器時代至商代玉鉞


中國，西元前3500-1500年。扁平的梯形器，上端有孔，可缚扎执柄，下端有刃。半透明的玉石頭呈深橄欖綠色調。


出版
:
Henry Trubner和Tsugio Mikami，《Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection》，東京，1989年，編號108。
Roger Keverne Ltd.，《Winter Exhibition》，倫敦，2004年，編號86。


來源：
日本東京出光美術館，1989年之前；英國倫敦Roger Keverne藝廊，2004年；私人收藏，購於上述收藏。出光美術館於1966年作爲出光佐三的私人收藏展廳開放。出光佐三 (1885-1981) 是石油公司出光興產的創始人，也是一位重要的藝術品收藏家。20歲時，他獲得了他的第一件藝術作品，是仙厓義梵創作的一幅中國布袋和尚的畫。隨後幾年，他的收藏不斷增加，最終收藏了大量中國陶瓷、繪畫、玉器和其他藝術品。Roger Keverne Roger Keverne曾任倫敦亞洲藝術主席和BADA總裁。他在 Spink & Son 開始了 50 年的職業生涯，年僅 28 歲就升任亞洲部負責人。他於 1992 年離開 Spink，與他的妻子兼商業夥伴 Miranda Clarke 一起在倫敦梅菲爾開設了自己的畫廊 ，最終於 2020年 6 月關門。

品相：
狀況極佳，磨損、輕微的風化和侵蝕跡象、微小的磕損。 邊緣有小缺口，頂部的缺口已平滑。具有天然裂紋的玉石，有的可能發展成細小裂紋。

重量：68.1 克
尺寸：長 16.7 厘米


文獻比較:

比較一件玉鉞，見湖北省文物考古研究所，《盤龍城遺址：1963-1994年考古發掘報告》，編號CXVII，圖6。比較一件玉鉞，見劉和卡彭的著作《神秘的面具：三星堆的中國古代青銅器》，編號36，頁104。比較一件玉鉞，藏於中國社會科學院考古研究所，見《安陽殷墟婦好墓》，編號20，圖1。比較一件非常相近的新石器時代玉鉞，收藏於哈佛藝術博物館，長 19.5 厘米，收藏編號1943.50.113，見 Greenville L. Winthrop Collection 的《中國古代玉器》，哈佛大學福格藝術博物館，編號 1，頁4-5。比較相關的玉鉞圖解同上，編號202，頁159。


拍賣結果比較:

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2019年11月27日，lot 2717
價格：HKD 81,250（相當於今日
EUR 10,000
）
描述：新石器時代青玉斧
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形和玉石顏色，以及相似的磨損。請注意尺寸較大 (28.8 厘米)。


拍賣結果比較:

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2015年3月19日，lot 545
價格：USD 16,250（相當於今日
EUR 19,000
）
描述：新石器時代晚期公元前三十至二十世紀初玉鑿
專家評論：比較相近的外形。請注意較深的顏色和尺寸較大 (23.8 厘米)。