27th Jan, 2022 10:00

Asian Art Discoveries

 
Lot 242
 

242

A JADE HUANG WITH PHOENIXES

Sold for €13,904

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details
Jade. China, Eastern Zhou, late Warring States period, 3rd century BC

During the Eastern Zhou, arc-shaped pendants known as huang formed the most common category of jade ornaments made for the nobles: at the end of the period, they were worked in more and more elaborate shapes, like the example presented here, which is embellished with two elegant, addorsed phoenixes carved in openwork at the top center. Their turned back heads are joined at their crests and form the suspension loop of the ornament, while their s-shaped, richly plumed bodies extend along the top border. Both sides of the huang are decorated with small spirals carved in relief with differently oriented ‘tails’. The contour of the pendant, marked by a plain band, is cut at regular distances with square indentations. The jade has altered extensively, due to burial, and now is mostly opaque and a dull, chalky white, except in some very small areas. There are numerous brown and black encrustations, indicating the presence of oxidized iron.

The present lot matches a famous huang discovered in 1977 in a Western Han tomb at Yanggong, Changfeng county, Anhui province, which is reproduced in many Chinese publications on jades: see, for example, Gu Fang, Zhongguo gu yuqi tu dian (The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades), Beijing 2007, p.185 or Yang Boda (ed.), Zhongguo yuqi quanji: 3, Chunqiu Zhanguo (Chinese Jades: 3, Spring and Autumn and Warring States), Hebei 1993, no. 125. The pair of phoenixes carved at the top is identical in both huang, but in the excavated one, the surface is further embellished with long curls incised amidst the raised scrolls that seem to extend from the tails of the birds. The two pendants are the same length, but the one from Anhui is almost the size of a semi-circle and not one-third as the present lot.

LENGTH 13.5 cm, WIDTH 5.6 cm

Provenance: Austrian private collection. Galerie Zacke, Archaic Jades from China, 10 March 2018, lot 38. Collection of Prof. Filippo Salviati, acquired from the above.

 
Jade. China, Eastern Zhou, late Warring States period, 3rd century BC

During the Eastern Zhou, arc-shaped pendants known as huang formed the most common category of jade ornaments made for the nobles: at the end of the period, they were worked in more and more elaborate shapes, like the example presented here, which is embellished with two elegant, addorsed phoenixes carved in openwork at the top center. Their turned back heads are joined at their crests and form the suspension loop of the ornament, while their s-shaped, richly plumed bodies extend along the top border. Both sides of the huang are decorated with small spirals carved in relief with differently oriented ‘tails’. The contour of the pendant, marked by a plain band, is cut at regular distances with square indentations. The jade has altered extensively, due to burial, and now is mostly opaque and a dull, chalky white, except in some very small areas. There are numerous brown and black encrustations, indicating the presence of oxidized iron.

The present lot matches a famous huang discovered in 1977 in a Western Han tomb at Yanggong, Changfeng county, Anhui province, which is reproduced in many Chinese publications on jades: see, for example, Gu Fang, Zhongguo gu yuqi tu dian (The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades), Beijing 2007, p.185 or Yang Boda (ed.), Zhongguo yuqi quanji: 3, Chunqiu Zhanguo (Chinese Jades: 3, Spring and Autumn and Warring States), Hebei 1993, no. 125. The pair of phoenixes carved at the top is identical in both huang, but in the excavated one, the surface is further embellished with long curls incised amidst the raised scrolls that seem to extend from the tails of the birds. The two pendants are the same length, but the one from Anhui is almost the size of a semi-circle and not one-third as the present lot.

LENGTH 13.5 cm, WIDTH 5.6 cm

Provenance: Austrian private collection. Galerie Zacke, Archaic Jades from China, 10 March 2018, lot 38. Collection of Prof. Filippo Salviati, acquired from the above.

Zacke Live Online Bidding

Our online bidding platform makes it easier than ever to bid in our auctions! When you bid through our website, you can take advantage of our premium buyer's terms without incurring any additional online bidding surcharges.

To bid live online, you'll need to create an online account. Once your account is created and your identity is verified, you can register to bid in an auction up to 12 hours before the auction begins. 

Create an Account

  

Intended Spend and Bid Limits

When you register to bid in an online auction, you will need to share your intended maximum spending budget for the auction. We will then review your intended spend and set a bid limit for you. Once you have pre-registered for a live online auction, you can see your intended spend and bid limit by going to 'Account Settings' and clicking on 'Live Bidding Registrations'. 

Your bid limit will be the maximum amount you can bid during the auction. Your bid limit is for the hammer price and is not affected by the buyer’s premium and VAT.  For example, if you have a bid limit of €1,000 and place two winning bids for €300 and €200, then you will only be able to bid €500 for the rest of the auction. If you try to place a bid that is higher than €500, you will not be able to do so.

 

Online Absentee and Telephone Bids

You can now leave absentee and telephone bids on our website! 

Absentee Bidding

Once you've created an account and your identity is verified, you can leave your absentee bid directly on the lot page. We will contact you when your bids have been confirmed.

Telephone Bidding

Once you've created an account and your identity is verified, you can leave telephone bids online. We will contact you when your bids have been confirmed.

Telephone Bidding Form

 

Classic Absentee and Telephone Bidding Form

You can still submit absentee and telephone bids by email or fax if you prefer. Simply fill out the Absentee Bidding/Telephone bidding form and return it to us by email at office@zacke.at or by fax at +43 (1) 532 04 52 20. You can download the PDF from our Upcoming Auctions page. 

 

How-To Guides

How to Create Your Personal Zacke Account
How to Register to Bid on Zacke Live
How to Leave Absentee Bids Online
How to Leave Telephone Bids Online

 

中文版本的操作指南 

创建新账号
注册Zacke Live在线直播竞拍(免平台费)
缺席投标和电话投标

 

Third-Party Bidding

We partner with best-in-class third-party partners to make it easy for you to bid online in the channel of your choice. Please note that if you bid with one of our third-party online partners, then there will be a live bidding surcharge on top of your final purchase price. You can find all of our fees here. Here's a full list of our third-party partners:

  • 51 Bid Live
  • EpaiLive
  • ArtFoxLive
  • Invaluable
  • LiveAuctioneers
  • the-saleroom
  • lot-tissimo
  • Drouot

Please note that we place different auctions on different platforms. For example, in general, we only place Chinese art auctions on 51 Bid Live.

  

Bidding in Person

You must register to bid in person and will be assigned a paddle at the auction. Please contact us at office@zacke.at or +43 (1) 532 04 52 for the latest local health and safety guidelines.