China, c. 3500-2500 BC. The tubular form flaring towards the sloping top in the form of a horse hoof (mati), cut across at an oblique angle forming an arched profile to the rim, the narrower end pierced with two holes. The opaque stone of a variegated dark greenish-black color with areas of calcification.

Provenance: Bruno Cooper Works of Art, Norwich, United Kingdom, 2006. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above. Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna, Italy. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother's business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than 60 years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, minor signs of weathering and erosion, tiny nicks, nibbling to the edges.

Weight: 478.8 g
Dimension: Height 13.9 cm

Expert's note: See the Hongshan period tomb excavated from Niuheliang on exhibit in the Prehistory Gallery of the Liaoning Museum. Excavated examples of the present lot are usually found behind the head of buried individuals, suggesting either a form of hair decoration or an implement to prevent the head of the deceased from touching the ground (see image section). See also Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Jades of the Hongshan Culture: The Dragon and Fertility Cult Worship, Arts Asiatiques 46, 1991, p. 82-95.

Large jade ornaments of this specific form were a product of the Hongshan culture, and examples have been recovered at the Niuheliang burial site in Liaoning province. While generally referred to as headpieces, Jenny F. So has recently suggested that they may have been worn on the forearm to protect the arm and wrist (Jenny F. So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 2019, page 74). She cites an example worn on the forearm of the occupant of Site III at Niuheliang, and another recovered from the Bronze Age burial site at Dadianzi, in present-day inner Mongolia.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Los Angeles, 21 June 2022, lot 30
Price: USD 7,650 or approx. EUR 7,400 converted at the time of writing
Description: A yellowish-celadon jade hoof-shaped ornament, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture
Expert remark: Compare the related plain form. Note the smaller size (8.6 cm) and yellowish-celadon color.