Null Chinese carved jade huang plaque in the form of a dragon. Of a pale jade co…
Description

Chinese carved jade huang plaque in the form of a dragon. Of a pale jade coloration with finely incised lines and a drilled hole to wear the plaque as a pendant. Included in this auction is a box designed to hold this jade as well as a collection of 22 other lovely carved works also offered here. Provenance: Collection of Jerry O'Brien, Wichita, Kansas; thence by descent. Jerry O'Brien (February 6, 1902-June 2, 1951) was a business mogul and public figure in Wichita, Kansas throughout the first half of the 20th century. He began working at Wilcoxon-Searcy before founding his own joint venture, the Roberts-O'Brien Company, in 1930 at the age of 28. During World War II he manufactured airplane parts and, by 1941, had opened up a company in his own name, the Jerry O'Brien Company. Throughout the 1940s he manufactured car awnings under the name Weather Master Car Awning Company. During this time he also served on numerous public and private committees. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 49 on June 2, 1951. During his life he collected these excellent jades and assembled them in the silk box offered in this sale. Reference: The Wichita Eagle: December 7, 1930, page 8; June 15, 1941, page 12; June 4, 1951, page 10; June 9, 1951, page 9. The Wichita Beacon: September 24, 1931, page 8; June 19, 1941, page 18; January 3, 1946, page 1; April 18, 1946, page 20; June 5, 1951, page 6. *Newspaper clippings not included with this lot* Length: 3 3/8 in x width: 1 1/2 in x depth: 1/8 in. Weight: 13.08 g.

42 

Chinese carved jade huang plaque in the form of a dragon. Of a pale jade coloration with finely incised lines and a drilled hole to wear the plaque as a pendant. Included in this auction is a box designed to hold this jade as well as a collection of 22 other lovely carved works also offered here. Provenance: Collection of Jerry O'Brien, Wichita, Kansas; thence by descent. Jerry O'Brien (February 6, 1902-June 2, 1951) was a business mogul and public figure in Wichita, Kansas throughout the first half of the 20th century. He began working at Wilcoxon-Searcy before founding his own joint venture, the Roberts-O'Brien Company, in 1930 at the age of 28. During World War II he manufactured airplane parts and, by 1941, had opened up a company in his own name, the Jerry O'Brien Company. Throughout the 1940s he manufactured car awnings under the name Weather Master Car Awning Company. During this time he also served on numerous public and private committees. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 49 on June 2, 1951. During his life he collected these excellent jades and assembled them in the silk box offered in this sale. Reference: The Wichita Eagle: December 7, 1930, page 8; June 15, 1941, page 12; June 4, 1951, page 10; June 9, 1951, page 9. The Wichita Beacon: September 24, 1931, page 8; June 19, 1941, page 18; January 3, 1946, page 1; April 18, 1946, page 20; June 5, 1951, page 6. *Newspaper clippings not included with this lot* Length: 3 3/8 in x width: 1 1/2 in x depth: 1/8 in. Weight: 13.08 g.

Auction is over for this lot. See the results

You may also like

A JADE ARC-SHAPED ‘MASK’ PENDANT, HUANG, LIANGZHU CULTURE A JADE ARC-SHAPED ‘MASK’ PENDANT, HUANG, LIANGZHU CULTURE China, circa 3300-2200 BC. The flattened pendant neatly incised to one side with a mask with bulging eyes at the center and two apertures to the edges for suspension. The translucent stone of a soft ivory-white color with extensive calcification. Provenance: From a Czech private collection. Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear and weathering, as expected. The stone with natural inclusions and fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time. Weight: 54.9 g Dimensions: Length 9.2 cm Huang were a part of the elite adornments during the Neolithic period, especially within Hongshan, Liangzhu, and Longshan cultures. These were worn along with headgear, knee decorations, elaborate beaded necklaces, and other body ornaments, all made primarily from jade. Dr. Elizabeth Childs-Johnson dubs these cultures a part of the ‘Jade Age’, a period during which an abundance of jade objects accompanied the elite burials for the first time. The imagery carved on these jade adornments was highly standardized, and the most prominent image, which appears on this lot, is that of the godhead (also called a spirit person, shenren, or an anthropomorphized deity). This image is flat, often covered in cosmic cloud scrolls, and has zoomorphic attributes combining bird and semi-human elements. Literature comparison: Compare a related jade huang from the Liangzhu culture in the Ancient Chinese Jade Gallery of the Shanghai Museum. Compare a related jade huang from the Liangzhu culture included in the jade relics exhibition of the Dawenkou, Longshan, and Liangzhu cultures at the Shandong Museum, Jinan, in 2014. Compare a related jade ornament with a mask design, dated mid-3 rd millennium BC, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 18.63.