Lot 17. The property of a British family. An archaic jade 'bird' plaque, Shang dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 4.5cm long. Sold for £239,700 (Estimate £8,000 - £12,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

The flat stone worked in the form of a plumed bird in profile, the head with circular eyes above downward-curving beak, the body finely detailed with geometric designs and curling plumes behind its head, back and tail, the stone an even pale green tone with beige inclusions.

Provenance: Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo
Roger Keverne Ltd., London
A British private collection

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 2004, no.65.

Note: The flat form of the present bird appears to relate it to the early birds linked with the Shijiahe Culture, Yangtze River region in Hubei Province, which show a similar treatment of incised designs and scales. Compare with a similar jade finial shaped as a plumed bird, Shang dynasty, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, no.11:3.

Compare with a similar Western Zhou dynasty jade bird plaque, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 May 2017, lot 20 (part lot).

Lot 15. The property of a British family. An archaic jade 'bird' plaque, Shang dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 5.5cm long. Sold for £75,900 (Estimate £5,000 - £8,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

The flat stone carved as a stylised mythical bird, decorated on both sides with geometric designs, with a circular hole pierced for suspension, the stone of chalky-white tone.

Provenance: Prof. Cheng Te-k'un (1908-2001), Cambridge (the Mu-Fei collection)
Bluett & Sons Ltd., London
A British private collection, acquired from the above on 31 December 1990.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Cheng Te-kun, 'The Carving of Jade in the Shang Period', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol.29, London, 1954-1955, pl.8(25).
Cheng Te-kun, Shang China, Cambridge, 1960, pl.XVI(e)
Bluett & Sons, Chinese Jades from the Mu-Fei Collection, London, 1990, no.9.

Note: See a related jade bird plaque, Shang dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Jade, vol.2, Beijing, 2011, p.175, no.196.

Compare with a related pale greenish-white jade bird-form finial, Shang dynasty, which was sold at Christie's New York, 18 March 2009, lot 263.

Lot 9. The property of a British family. An archaic green jade bird-shaped pendant, Neolithic Period, Hongshan Culture (c. 3800-2700 BC); 5cm long. Sold for £44,400 (Estimate £8,000 - £12,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

The flattened bird carved with a protruding head, bulging eyes and a proud chest, the outstretched wings subtly detailed with grooves and ridges simulating feathers on the interior, the back pierced with two holes for attachment, the stone of celadon colour with calcified areas.

Provenance: Prof. Cheng Te-k'un (1908-2001), Cambridge (The Mu-Fei collection)
Bluett & Sons Ltd., London
A British private collection, acquired from the above.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Cheng Te-k'un, Shang China, Cambridge, 1960, pl.XVII (c)
Cheng Te-k'un, 'The Carving of Jade in the Shang Period', TOCS, vol.29, London, 1954-1955, pl.10 (32)
Bluett & Sons Ltd., Chinese Jades from the Mu-Fei Collection, London, 1990, no.2.

Note: The importance of the bird motif in the Hongshan Culture is discussed by Wu Hung, 'Bird Motifs in Eastern Yi Art', in Orientations, vol.16, no.10, October 1985, pp.31-41, where he illustrates line drawings of various bird pendants excavated in Liaoning Province, figs.4-8. Similar examples have been found at Hongshan sites, such as Hutouhou in Fuxin, Liaoning Province or at Balinyouqi in Inner Mongolia, illustrated by Gu Fang, The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, Beijing, 2005, vol.2, pl.26.

Compare with a related celadon jade bird-shaped pendant, Neolithic period, Hongshan Culture, which was sold at Christie's Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 90.

Lot 21. The property of a British family. A very rare archaic jade 'dragon and  figure' pendant, xi, Warring States-Western Han Dynasty (475 BC-AD 8); 11.2cm long. Sold for £40,620 (Estimate £8,000 - £12,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

Meticulously carved with an intricate reticulated design of a stylised dragon with open jaws and round eyes, a sinuous body and a long tail, surmounted by a figure atop the dragon's head, the calcified stone of buff colour.

Provenance: The Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo
Roger Keverne Ltd., London
A British private collection, acquired from the above on 25 April 2006.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 2004, no.69.

Note: The dragon-shaped arched fang-shaped pendant, which was likely made to be used as a knot-loosener. Xi pendants were usually made as pairs and buried in tombs. While the examples dated to the Spring and Autumn period resembled the shape of an animal's tooth or fang, the pendants made during the Warring States period were usually more slender in form. See a related jade xi, with dragon head, Warring States period, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Jade, vol.3, Beijing, 2011, p.76, no.73. See also a jade phoenix shaped xi, Eastern Han dynasty, illustrated by A.Forsyth and B.McElney, Jades from China, Bath, 1994, p.256, no.156.

Compare with a pair of related jade 'dragon' xi, late Warring States/early Western Han dynasty, which were sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2017, lot 2772.

Lot 20. The property of a British family. A very rare pale green and russet jade 'phoenix' finial, Warring States period (475-221 BC); 19cm high. Sold for £31,800 (Estimate £3,000 - £5,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

The cylindrical finial with scrolling motifs, attached to a jade phoenix, its upswept wings atop square-sectioned socket finial, the stone of pale green tone.

Provenance: a British private collection.

Note: The present finial shares close similarities with the style of jade carvings produced during the Eastern Zhou period in Henan Province. See, for example, a jade handle decorated with a feline, 4rd-3rd century BC, from the Freer Gallery, Washington, which displays similar 'C' scrolls and sinuous creatures carved along the sides of the main shaft, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, p.276, fig.1.

Compare with a similar rare jade tube-shaped pendant, late Warring States period, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3 December 2021, lot 2751.

Lot 25. The property of a British family. An archaic pale green jade 'dragon' plaque, Spring and Autumn Period (770-475 BC); 5.7cm high. Sold for £22,950 (Estimate £4,000 - £6,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

The flat pendant shape finely carved as a dragon shown in profile with its head turned backward, the sinuous body decorated with double lines before the notched back and a curling tail, the short sides and underside pierced with eight small holes for attachment, the semi-translucent stone of an even pale greenish tone.

Provenance: T.B. Walker Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sotheby's New York, 29 November 1988, lot 6
Alan and Simone Hartman, New York
Christie's Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1575
Roger Keverne Ltd., London
A British private collection, acquired from the above on 11 February 2008.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited：Jades of the T.B. Walker Collection at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1950, pl.II, no.2
R.Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no.11
Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003 - December 2004
Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2008, no.73.

Note: Compare with a related jade 'dragon' plaque, Spring and Autumn period, which was excavated from the tomb of Guoguo, Sanmenxia, Henan province, illustrated by Gu Fang, The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p.185

See also a related pale celadon jade 'dragon' pendant, Western Zhou dynasty, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2020, lot 2761.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 15 May 2023, London, Knightsbridge