Jade, China. Bronze age to Shang dynasty, ca. 1600-1300 BC

玉刀。中國，青銅器時代至商代，約公元前1600-1300年。長13.6厘米。Ralph von Koenigswald先生舊藏。

Blade with clear form, ridge in the middle, neck and eyelet. The size is appropriate for a spear. The mineral’s color was probably a dark green which was changed in the process of aging; whitish and brown areas (iron) dominant. Very pronounced weathering with a particularly interesting effect. Due to its hardness, jade weathers extremely slowly, although the process is affected by the storage conditions. In the case of this blade, metal was probably somewhere nearby, possibly rusting iron. This jade piece was an object used in the burial cult.

This jade will be published in FILIPPO SALVIATI: “THE MYSTERIOUS STONE: Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Han in private collections” (date of publication spring 2017).

LENGTH 13.6 CM

Once part of the collection of Ralph von Koenigswald, acquired ca. 1930 in Beijing, subsequently part of the collection of a German doctor from Singapore and, fi nally, in the collection of Sohel Chawla, Vienna-Delhi



ANTIQUE AND ARCHAIC JADES FROM THE COLLECTION OF GUSTAV RALPH VON KÖNIGSWALD (1902 - 1982) NO. 70-74d

Gustav Ralph von Königswald (1902 - 82) was one of the most important paleoanthropologists in the world and became famous for his discovery of homo erectus on Java. At the end of the 1930’s, Koenigswald spent time in Beijing, where he focused, above all, on acquiring jades. We were already able to acquire valuable jades from his collection in 2007.

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