A 'TWO-FACE' JADE PENDANT DEPICTING A MYTHICAL WATERBIRD, LATE SHANG TO WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
China, 1300-900 BC. The flattened plaque depicting the bird standing in an upright position with a curved neck and long pointed beak, the side wings represented by neatly carved scroll below the back wing hovering above as if in a flapping motion. Pierced with a small aperture to the neck for suspension. Partly translucent stone of a green tone with brown and russet shadings and few dark specks as well as creamy opaque calcification. The non-calcified areas show a fine ancient polish.


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 several objects from Irene Beasley, including the present lot.

Condition:
Good condition with minor wear, small nibblings, signs of weathering and erosion. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 9.3 g
Dimensions: Length 5.1 cm


Expert’s note:
The placement of the aperture plays with the eye, creating the appearance of a second head craned over the body. The back wing of the bird extends out from the main body.


Literature comparison:

Compare a related jade finial in the form of a bird, dated ca. 1300-1050 BC, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S1987.667. Compare a related jade figure of a cormorant eating a fish, dated circa 1100-901 BC, in the British Museum, registration number 1937,0416.175.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 15 March 2021, lot 16
Price: USD 22,812 or approx.
EUR 23,500,
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A 'yellow' jade mythical bird Pendant
Expert remark: Note the yellow jade and larger size (7 cm), compare the depiction and structure of the incision work.




商末至西周雙面玉鳥佩飾

中國，西元前 1300-900 年。扁平玉佩飾，鳥呈站姿，頸部彎曲，鳥喙長而尖，一翅展開，一翅落下，似乎在拍打。頸部穿孔用於懸掛。局部半透明，綠色調玉料，帶有棕色和赤褐色以及黑色斑紋，局部白色不透明鈣化。拋光良好。


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，有輕微磨損、小嗑損、風化和侵蝕跡象。具有天然裂隙的玉料，其中一些可能已經發展成細小的裂紋。

重量：9.3 克
尺寸：長5.1 釐米


專家注釋：
整體表現生動，雕刻活靈活現。


文獻比較：

比較一件相近公元前1300-1050年鳥形玉佩，收藏於史密森學會國立亞洲藝術博物館, 館藏編號S1987.667。比較一件相近約公元前1100-901年鸕鶿吃魚玉像, 收藏於大英博物館, 館藏編號1937,0416.175。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約邦瀚斯, 2021年3月15日, lot 16
價格：USD 22,812（相當於今日
EUR 23,500
）
描述：西周或更晚鳥形玉珮
專家評論：請注意此黃玉尺寸較大(7 厘米), 比較雕刻技巧。