Jade, China. Eastern Zhou to Western Han, 3rd – 1st century BC

玉劍首。西漢代，公元前3-2世紀。直徑5.5厘米，厚1厘米。加拿大私人舊藏。

This circular, disk-shaped piece is a jianshou, the upper part of a hilt. Very similar pieces have been found, among other places, in the king’s grave in Nanyue. The bottom is completely flat and undecorated, the edges bevelled and flat on the outside, and the topside decorated. The decorative work consists of a pattern of tightly packed spiral clouds, the so-called wowen or “spiral pattern”. In the center is a domed, circular area with curved hooks similar to sharp blades as well as volutes and some grid patterning. Were this section to be replaced with an opening, this piece would turn into an, although small, perfect bi disk. On the bottom is a slender, circular canal for attaching the hilt as well as eyelets to secure it. The Jade is green-yellow in color and has a blackish area, white parts and veins and some corrosion due to aging. The piece’s high translucence amplifies the green-yellow color as well as the veins etc., presenting them in a very lively contrast to the black.

Notes by Prof. Salviati: This jade pommel represents the standard type of such ornaments for swords which were current during the late Eastern Zhou and Western Han periods. It is round in shape with a plain underside and a circular groove carved in the centre. The top has a large raised round boss in the middle embellished with three comma-like patterns radiating from the border that alternate with etched patterns comprised within scrolls. The area between the central boss and the border is filled with regular spirals incised in low relief. The closest comparable example is a sword pommel in the J. Hotung collection published in J. Rawson, Chinese Jade. From the Neolithic to the Qing, London 1995, no.21:3, carved in a similar green jade with altered areas. Another very similar example is a sword pommel carved in translucent green jade from the collection of Max Loehr (1903-1988) which is engraved at the centre with the same exact pattern as the present one: Sotheby’s Paris, 15 December 2016, sale PF1627, Lot 70: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/jades-archaiques-de-chine-pf1627/lot.70.html Two more similar jades in the Freer/Sackler Galleries (acc. nos. S1987.599 and S1987.601) display the same central motif, though the spirals are rendered as sketched hexagons: http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/object.php?q=fsg_S1987.599 http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/object.php?q=fsg_S1987.601

DIAMETER 5.5 CM, THICKNESS 10 MM

From a Canadian collection



Expertise: Wolfmar Zacken (description) & Fillipo Salviati (dating and expertise)