Chinese Jade Animal Mask Ornament, Hongshan Culture 3500 BC -2500 BC

紅山文化 約公元前3500-2500年 青玉帶齒動物面紋飾

This Jade Comb ornament has four birds in flight, around a center anthropomorphic Taotie mask . The Hongshan Artists mastery of carving can be seen in the precise symmetry.

Inspected and Authenticated by Mr. Gu Fang.
A copy of the signed and notarized certificate of authenticity will be included.

- Hongshan
- 3500 BC - 2500 BC
- Jade
- 4 1/2 in. x 9 in. or 11.5 cm x 22.8cm
- From a private New York Collection

- 紅山文化
- 約公元前3500-2500年
- 玉
- 高11.5 厘米 -寬 22.8 厘米
- 由Gu Fang(古方)编写的真实性证书

Gu Fang is a renowned scholar on jade. He graduated from the Archaeology Department of Peking University and later, the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in China. He worked as visiting scholar for the Curatorial Department of Asian Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, being responsible for the appraisal and research of the jades in the museum. Since 2011, he has been appointed executive director and researcher in Traditional Culture and Social Responsibility Institute of Market Economy Academy of Peking University, focusing on the research, teaching, publication, appraisal and exhibition of Chinese jades.

文博文物评估鉴定专家古方，1962年生于北京。1986年毕业于北京大学考古系，获历史学学士学位。1989年毕业于中国社会科学院研究生院考古系，获历史学硕士学位。1989年至1997年工作于中国社会科学院考古研究所，任助理研究员，从事汉唐时期考古发掘和中国古代玉器研究。1997年至1999年，美国纽约大都会艺术博物馆亚洲艺术部访问学者。2000年至2010年，科学出版社文物考古分社特约编辑，主编《中国出土玉器全集》和《中国传世玉器全集》。2011年起，任北京大学民营经济研究院传统文化与社会责任研究所执行所长、研究员，从事中国玉器的研究、调查、教学、出版、鉴定和展览工作。

Perfect! BURIAL ALTERATION AND SURFACE ACCRETIONS Burial alteration is a particular type of alteration known to occur on early Chinese jades composed of nephrite. Such alteration usually appears as opaque, white, chalky areas on otherwise translucent, polished jades. In many cases these patchy areas of alteration are softer than the unaltered areas of the jade. This type of alteration consists of a selective dissolution or leaching on a microscopic scale along mineral grain boundaries by solutions of high pH (pH > 9) rather than a mineralogical change (Gaines and Handy, 1975). This type of high-pH environment can occur during decay of the corpse(s) with which the jades were buried. Experiments to produce burial alteration on jade indicate that it is likely that this type of alteration occurs during the months immediately after the burial when a corpse decomposes (Aerts et al., 1995).