ANCIENT ASIAN CHINESE HAN DYNASTY JADE PENDANT ORNAMENT EX HORN COLLECTION

Description

A Superb Jade Archaistic Pendant,
Han Dynasty - China
c. 10-220 AD, Original
Green and russet jade
Height 11.46cm (4.5in)
Property from the James Horn Collection, Newark, OH
Provenance documentation on file and can accompany the artifact for historical conservation purposes.
Description: Pendant of spade coin form, overlayed with incised archaic characters. The stone is of yellowish-green color suffused with areas of russet, brown and cream. Curatorial Remarks: Surface wear commensurate with age and use. Appropriate of age, origin and medium.
The Han dynasty dominated China from 206 BC to 220 AD and viewed as the second imperial dynasty of China. Jade has always been the material most highly prized by the Chinese, above silver and gold. From ancient times, this extremely tough translucent stone has been worked into ornaments, ceremonial weapons and ritual objects. Recent archaeological finds in many parts of China have revealed not only the antiquity of the skill of jade carving, but also the extraordinary levels of development it achieved at a very early date. Jade was worn by kings and nobles and after death placed with them in the tomb. As a result, the material became associated with royalty and high status. It also came to be regarded as powerful in death, protecting the body from decay (British Museum, 2007). Reputedly a burial sash weight, the present jade pendant simulates the spade-shaped currency established during the reign of Wang Mang.
Cf. Sotheby’s, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Sale N08726, New York, March 23, 2011, Lot 789 (SOLD ,750) for a comparable example.
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