A Chinese necklace with various jades

Ming dynasty or earlier

Single-strand necklace consisting variety of stone beads; notably jade, coral and turquoise. Centering a jade bi with carved beast motifs and a black and white jade pendant, with incised jade cicadas.

L: 33 in.

L: 83.82 cm.

Provenance: Estate, Washington, DC.

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This necklace comprises various ancient jade carvings, from different periods and styles; strung together with a variety of materials, including turquoise and coral. It is extremely rare to have such a well-preserved piece of jewelry containing a plethora of iconic jade pieces from different periods. Jewelry examples of this preciousness are commonly found only in museums. References: The Palace Museum, No. 00083960; No. 00225324; National Palace Museum, No. 005417N000000000;Sungari International Auction, May 2021, lot 1897.

本件作品由各類古玉串聯而成，品類豐富，風格迥異，且時間跨度長，聚集了司南、翁仲、剛卯、雞心佩，勒子、玉蟬等，隔片為綠松與珊瑚。能集齊如此之多各時期代表玉器，並且保存至今，極為難得。自古有黃金有價玉無價的說法，古玉也有趨利辟邪之說。寶串上的各類玉器在各個博物館都有類似物件，可資參考。中貿聖佳2021年曾拍過串有八枚古玉的多寶串，本件拍品較之數量更為豐富，年代也更為久遠。

故宮博物院-編號-故00083960；故宮博物院-編號-故00225324；國立故宮博物院-編號-故玉005417N000000000；中貿聖佳2021年05月拍賣-編號-1897