A PALE CELADON JADE SWORD POMMEL, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY 西漢青白玉劍首

Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價

China, 206 BC-8 AD. Of circular form, finely carved in low relief with a central spiral design encircled by lappet motifs, all interspersed by neatly incised cross-hatched designs and curved lines. The back with a central circular aperture flanked by two small pierced holes. The stone of a pale celadon tone with dark gray and cloudy inclusions as well as areas of white calcification. Good polish and elegant luster.

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 minor old wear, minuscule nibbling, minor signs of weathering and erosion, and iron rust encrustations. The stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 21.3 g
Dimensions: Diameter 3.8 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a related jade pommel, dated ca. 3rd-1st century BC, 4.6 cm diameter, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S1987.599. Compare various other pommels excavated from the tomb of the King of Nanyue and illustrated in Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue, pls. 204, 210, 211, and 212.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30 November 2021, lot 461
Price: HKD 176,400 or approx. EUR 21,000 converted at the time of writing
Description: A jade sword pommel, Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related form and design. Note the size (5.7 cm).




西漢青白玉劍首
中國，西元前206至西元8年。圓形，片狀。正面有紋飾，中間為三組陰刻的漩渦紋，其外有六瓣對稱花瓣。背面間有兩個對穿孔。玉為青色，稍有深灰色沁以及白色鈣化區域，良好的拋光和盈潤的光澤。

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：狀況良好，有輕微的磨損、微小的磕損和風化。 具有天然裂隙的石料，隨著時間的推移，其中一些已經發展成細小的細紋。

重量：21.3 克
尺寸：直徑 3.8 厘米

文獻比較：
比較一件相近的西元前三至一世紀玉劍首，直徑4.6 厘米，收藏於史密森尼國立亞洲藝術博物館，收藏編號S1987.599。比較南越王墓出土的其他各種玉劍首 ，見《Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue》 ，圖204、210、211和 212。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2021年11月30日，lot 461
價格：HKD 176,400（相當於今日EUR 21,000）
描述：漢玉劍首
專家評論：比較相近的外形的設計。請注意尺寸(5.7厘米)。