A PALE CELADON ‘FISH’ PENDANT, LATE SHANG TO EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
China, 12th-10th century BC. The thick pendant is of curved shape and finely carved as a fish with subtle incision work at the back and neck as well as large round eyes. The translucent stone has a good polish and is of a pale celadon tone with dark specks and opaque areas of beige and white calcification. One small hole for suspension.


Provenance:
Collection of Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939) and thence by descent to his widow Irene Beasley. Collection of Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964), 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 with minor wear and minuscule nibbles. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 7.2 g
Dimensions: Length 6 cm


Literature comparison:

Compare a related jade fish, with similar sparse incision work, also dated late Shang to Western Zhou dynasty, 6.2 cm long, in the British Museum, registration number 1947,0712.439.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 13 September 2019, lot 814
Price: USD 50,000 or approx.
EUR 53,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white and beige jade fish-shaped pendant
Expert remark: Compare the related form, gills, fins and eyes. Note the size (7.5 cm).




商末至西周初年青白玉魚形佩飾

中國，公元前十二至十世紀。吊墜呈弧形，魚背和頸部有細微的陰線雕刻，圓圓的大眼睛。半透明的玉料經過良好的拋光處理，呈淺青色，帶有深色斑點和不透明的白色鈣化區域。一個用於懸掛的小孔。


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：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損和微小的磕損。具有天然紋理的石料，其中一些可能已經發展成細小的裂紋。

重量：7.2 克
尺寸：長 6 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件相近的商末到西周的魚形玉佩，有相似的陰刻技巧，長6.2 厘米，收藏於大英博物館，收藏編號 1947,0712.439。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2019年9月13日，lot 814
價格：USD 50,000（相當於今日
EUR 53,500
）
描述：商晚期/西周早期白玉褐沁魚形珮
專家評論：比較相近的外形，鰓、鰭和眼睛。請注意尺寸(7.5厘米)。