Jade. China, late Neolithic, Hongshan culture, c. 3500 – 3000 BC


Pendant carved in the shape of a coiled mythical creature known as a zhulong or ‘pig-dragon’.

These pendants belong to one of the most typical categories of Hongshan ornaments in jade and come in different sizes, ranging from 16 centimetres in height to much smaller ones, such as the present example. The dragons are always represented in the same manner: the snake-like body is bent in a c-shape, the large, round, slightly bulging eyes are topped with projections, and the snout is marked by engraved lines. The head is separated from the body by a deep incision in the jade which does not cut completely through the stone, as opposite to other pendants of the same type where the cut goes through the jade, thus fully separating the head from the tail: both instances are documented in examples excavated from Hongshan culture sites (images of both types can be seen here: http://seekcurio.com/yq/hsy.html).

The highly polished jade is smooth and semi-translucent and of a beautiful light green colour: the areas in brown show a high concentration of iron. The carver has cleverly integrated the natural darker patches of the stone to create a pleasant two-toned jade pendant.

In size and material, this small pendant can be paralleled to one excavated in 1980 at Narisitai, Bayanhansumu, Balin Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, which measures 3.53 cm in height (image available here, see fig. 27: http://www.360doc.com/content/11/0211/10/380916_92060949.shtml)

A larger ‘pig-dragon’ excavated in 1984 from tomb 4, mound 1, locality 2 of the Niuheliang site (Jianping County, Liaoning Province) is also carved from a similar type of jade: see Xiaoneng Yang, The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology. Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China, Washington, 1999, cat. No. 10 (an online image of this dragon can be seen here, first from the top: http://tc.wangchao.net.cn/baike/detail_45623.html)

A small zhulong pendant of 5.1 cm in height is also published in J. Lally, Archaic Chinese Bronzes, Jades and Works of Art, New York 1994, cat. No. 3.
獸形玉玦 - 紅山文化, 公元前35世紀-前30世紀 高 4,2 厘米; 寬 3,2 厘米

HEIGHT 4,2 CM, WIDTH 3,2 CM
From a German collection



Jades nos. 92 - 121 were examined by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati, declared to be authentic and dated by critical evaluation of their origin.
Salviati is a professor of Chinese art at the oriental faculty of the university „La Sapienza“ in Rome and one of the most renowned experts in the field of jades worldwide, specialized in archaic jades of all eras up to the Song dynasty. All images of jades on our website can be enlarged to high detail. Work by hand, signs of age, weathering and colour can be recognized in these images.
奧匈帝國舊藏。古玉由意大利 Filippo Salviati 教授鑑定。Salviati 教授是羅馬大學中國美術專家，世界上最出名的雕玉藝術專家之一。他的專業是商代一直到宋代的古玉。我會網上的古玉都可以方大，看的到最微小的細節，正如手工，年代，顏色等。