J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York
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Ancient Chinese Jade
March 15-29, 2018
54.
A NEOLITHIC JADE ‘EAGLE’ HAIR ORNAMENT (JI)
Late Shijiahe Culture, circa 2300-1600 B.C.
the noble bird with grooved wings folded back and crested head held erect, compactly carved as the upper half of a thick rod which continues down to a ribbed section drilled with a narrow transverse channel above the sharp pointed end of chiseled arrowhead shape, the onion green stone with a cloudy tan colored area on one side.
Length 3 1⁄4 inches (8.2 cm)
A very similar late Shijiahe eagle pattern jade hair ornament in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei is illustrated in Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth—Chinese Jades Through the Ages, Taipei, 2012, p. 57, pl. 4-5-11, where the author attributes this type of jade hairpin to “…the bird-worshipping Yi people…” from Northeast China around the Shandong peninsula who moved “…to the middle reaches of the Yangzi River, taking eagle worship to their new home. They loved to fix their hair using a jade pin with eagle pattern in order to be blessed by the eagle god.”
Another similar Shijiahe culture eagle pattern jade pin discovered in the tomb of Fu Hao (circa 1200 B.C.) is illustrated in Yinxu Fu Hao mu (Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang), Beijing, 1980, pl. CLXII, no. 942.
新石器時代 石家河鷹形玉笄 長1.7厘米
54.
A NEOLITHIC JADE ‘EAGLE’ HAIR ORNAMENT (JI)
Late Shijiahe Culture, circa 2300-1600 B.C.
Length 3 1⁄4 inches (8.2 cm)