Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021
Lot 422. A rare archaic spinach-green jade axe blade, ge, Neolithic Period; 18cm (7 1/8in) long. Sold for £ 20,250 (€ 23,519). © Bonhams
The rectangular blade tapering towards the pierced handle with a hafting hole to the upper section, flaring slightly towards the cutting edge, the stone of spinach-green tone with cloudy white and russet flecks and inclusions.
Provenance: Densmore, Paris, 1947
Henri Michel (1885-1981), and thence by descent
Christie's London, 11 May 2016, lot 298.
Note: See a related jade axe-blade, Neolithic period, in the collection of the National Museum of History, Taipei, illustrated by J.Johnston and Chan Lai Pik, 5,000 Years of Chinese Jade, Taipei, 2011, no.9; see another example in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Jade Artefacts in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, no.23.
Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021