A JADE ‘DRAGON’ PENDANT, HUANG, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
China, 11th-8th century BC. Arc-shaped pendant neatly incised to either side with a stylized motif representing the dragon’s body and legs, terminating at each end with an abstract dragon head. A hole for suspension is drilled at each end. The translucent stone is of a white color with pale brown shadings and creamy patches of opaque calcification.


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 extensive old wear as expected, tiny nibbles, minor weathering.

Weight: 9.6 g
Dimensions: Length 6.5 cm


Literature comparison:

Compare a related jade huang with slightly different decoration and of similarly small size, dated Western Zhou dynasty, 9th-8th century BC, 5.8 cm long, in the Harvard Art Museums, object number 1943.50.623, illustrated in Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, 'Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum', Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 1975, cat. no. 328, p. 220.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2017, lot 2730
Price: HKD 437,500 or approx.
EUR 58,000,
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pair of celadon jade ‘dragon’ huang, early to mid-Western Zhou dynasty, circa mid-11th to mid-9th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the related arc form and stylized dragon decoration (albeit in thread relief). Note that the lot comprises two pendants and note the size (9.5 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2018, lot 2741
Price: HKD 437,500 or approx.
EUR 57,000,
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A celadon jade ‘dragon’ pendant, huang, mid-Western Zhou dynasty, circa mid-10th to mid-9th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the related arc form and stylized dragon decoration (albeit in thread relief). Note the size (11.3 cm).




西周龍紋玉璜

中國，公元前十一至八世紀。弧形吊墜兩側整齊地雕刻著龍紋，兩端各有一個抽象的龍頭。每端鑽一個用於懸掛的孔。白色半透明玉料，帶有淺棕色紋理和白色不透明鈣化區域。


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，有大量的磨損、極小的缺損和輕微的風化。

重量：9.6 克
尺寸：長 6.5 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件相近但不同裝飾的西周公元前九至八世紀玉璜，以及尺寸較小，長5.8 厘米，收藏於哈佛藝術博物館，館藏編號 1943.50.623 ，見Max Loehr和Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber ，《Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum》，哈佛藝術博物館，劍橋，1975年，圖錄編號328，頁220。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2017年11月29日，lot 2730
價格：HKD 437,500（相當於今日
EUR 58,000
）
描述：約公元前十一至九世紀西周早期至中期一對龍形青玉佩
專家評論：比較相近的外形和螺旋形龍紋。請注意此為一對玉佩和尺寸(9.5厘米)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2018年11月28日，lot 2741
價格：HKD 437,500（相當於今日
EUR 57,000
）
描述： 約公元十至九世紀西周中期龍形青玉璜
專家評論：比較相近的外形和螺旋形龍紋。請注意尺寸(11.3厘米)。