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A JADE ‘BIRD’ PENDANT, LATE SHANG TO WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY A JADE ‘BIRD’ PENDANT, LATE SHANG TO WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY China, 11 th-8 th century BC. The thick flattened plaque finely carved in the form of a recumbent bird in profile, detailed with incised feathers, sharp beak with pierced aperture for suspension, and round eyes. Opaque stone of a mottled greenish-brown tone with russet veins. 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: Good condition with expected old wear, minuscule nibbling, small losses, tiny nicks, minor signs of weathering and erosion. Weight: 8.6 g Dimensions: Length 4.6 cm Literature comparison: Compare a related jade bird, dated to the Western Zhou dynasty, 5.1 cm long, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 50.46.247. Compare a related jade bird pendant, dated to the Western Zhou dynasty, 4.3 cm long, in the British Museum, registration number 2022,3034.111. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April 2019, lot 3446 Price: HKD 75,000 or approx. EUR 9,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A celadon jade ‘bird’ plaque, Shang dynasty Expert remark: Compare the related form and incision work. Note the smaller size (4.7 cm).

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A JADE ‘BIRD’ PENDANT, LATE SHANG TO WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY A JADE ‘BIRD’ PENDANT, LATE SHANG TO WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY China, 11 th-8 th century BC. The thick flattened plaque finely carved in the form of a recumbent bird in profile, detailed with incised feathers, sharp beak with pierced aperture for suspension, and round eyes. Opaque stone of a mottled greenish-brown tone with russet veins. 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: Good condition with expected old wear, minuscule nibbling, small losses, tiny nicks, minor signs of weathering and erosion. Weight: 8.6 g Dimensions: Length 4.6 cm Literature comparison: Compare a related jade bird, dated to the Western Zhou dynasty, 5.1 cm long, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 50.46.247. Compare a related jade bird pendant, dated to the Western Zhou dynasty, 4.3 cm long, in the British Museum, registration number 2022,3034.111. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April 2019, lot 3446 Price: HKD 75,000 or approx. EUR 9,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A celadon jade ‘bird’ plaque, Shang dynasty Expert remark: Compare the related form and incision work. Note the smaller size (4.7 cm).

Estimate 200 - 400 EUR
Starting price 200 EUR

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For sale on Thursday 05 Sep : 11:00 (CEST)
vienna, Austria
Galerie Zacke
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A CELADON JADE SWORD GUARD, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY A CELADON JADE SWORD GUARD, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY Jade. China, Western Han dynasty, 2 nd century BC to 1 st century AD Of lozenge shape, the front finely carved in high relief with a lively chilong and the reverse in low relief with an angular scroll design centered by a median ridge. The translucent stone of a celadon tone with white clouds and darker inclusions, further with natural fissures and a small chip to one corner. Museum comparison: Compare two Western Han white jade sword guards carved with a chilong in high relief on one side and a taotie mask in low relief on the reverse, from Xiashan, Yongcheng, Henan province and now in the Henan Provincial Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 5, Henan, Beijing, 2005, nos. 219 and 220. Compare a related jade sword fitting carved with a chilong in high relief, also dated to the Western Han period, in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B60J799. Compare a related jade sword guard, also dated to the Western Han period, in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1939.28. Auction comparison: Compare a related jade sword guard similarly carved with a chilong in high relief, also dated to the Western Han dynasty, 5.7 cm long, at Christie’s New York in Important Chinese Art from the Junkunc Collection on 18 March 2021, lot 609 ( sold for USD 37,500). Compare a related jade sword guard, similarly carved with an angular scroll design, dated Warring States period to early Western Han dynasty, 5.1 cm long, at Christie’s New York in Dongxi Studio - Important Chinese Jade and Hardstone Carvings from a Distinguished Private Collection on 17 March 2016, lot 921 ( sold for USD 16,250). WIDTH 6.6 cm Provenance: From a private family collection in Milan, Italy. Private collection of Professor Filippo Salviati, acquired from the above through the Italian trade.