A JADE TORTOISESHELL-FORM BEAD, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
China, 1027 – 771 BC. Realistically carved in the form of a slightly crested carapace, the bead has a single aperture extending between the two halves of the shell drilled longitudinally. The sloping sides are neatly incised with a lozenge pattern, deeply grooved at the ends. The opaque stone is of a lustrous, ivory-white tone.


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:
Good condition, commensurate with age, with significant old wear, minor nicks and signs of weathering, small remnants of pigment around the center. The stone with natural inclusions and fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 5.9 g
Dimensions: Length 2 cm


Literature comparison:

A related tortoiseshell-form bead is illustrated in Gugong bowuyuan cangpin daxi: yuqi bian (Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade), Vol. 2, Xia, Shang, Zhou, Beijing, 2011, p. 248, no. 302. Compare also the similar jade tortoiseshell illustrated by Jenyns, Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum, London, 1951, pl. XXIIc. Compare with a jade tortoiseshell-form bead, Western Zhou Dynasty (1027 – 771 B.C.), with J.J. Lally & Co, New York, Nr. 63, Length 3⁄4 inch (2 cm).




西周龜殼形玉珠

中國，西元前1027 – 771年。玉珠雕刻成龜殼狀，縱向兩半甲殼之間延伸有一個孔。傾斜的側面整齊地刻有菱形圖案，末端有凹槽。不透明的玉石具有象牙白色光澤。


來源：
Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939)收藏，他逝世後由其遺孀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：
狀況良好，有明顯的磨損、輕微的刻痕和風化跡象，中心周圍有少量顏料殘留。帶有天然內沁的玉石存在裂隙，其中一些裂隙可能隨著時間的推移發展成細小裂紋。

重量：5.9 克
尺寸：長 2 厘米


文獻比較:

一件相近的龜殼形玉珠，見《故宮博物院藏大系‧玉器編》，卷二，〈夏商周〉，北京，2011年，頁248，編號302。比較相似的龜殼形玉珠，見Jenyns，《Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum》，倫敦，1951年，編號XXIIc。比較西周龜殼形玉珠，收藏於J.J. Lally & Co，紐約，編號63，長 3⁄4吋(2 厘米)。