† A RARE YELLOWISH-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE ‘HUMANOID FIGURE’ PENDANT, HONGSHAN CULTURE
Lot 138 - HS0625

Expert authentication: Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and confirms its authenticity and the dating above, noting the style of cutting, workmanship, thickness and quality of stone with decomposed areas indicating burial all suggest a dating to 4700-2500 BC. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A signed copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 1 April 2022, accompanies this lot.
Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012).

China, late Neolithic period, 4700-2500 BC. Worked in the form of a humanoid seated on its haunches, with arms crossed over the knees, and the elongated face with bulging eyes and arrow-shaped nose. Apertures between the arms and torso, with two additional openings on the back for the threading of a cord. The translucent stone of a pale yellowish green color with small patches of creamy russet, icy veins, and dark inclusions.

Provenance: From a private collection in New York. One foot with an old label inscribed ‘39’.
Condition: Very good condition with expected traces of wear, minor losses, and tiny nicks.

Weight: 63.7 g
Dimensions: Height 5.4 cm

The Hongshan culture, from which this jade pendant comes, remained unknown until the 1980s. Centered in northeastern China, it is known for large ceremonial structures built with rocks, graves lined with stone slabs, and distinctively shaped jades that were often the sole goods found in tombs. The present lot belongs to a distinct group of three-dimensional humanoid figures, a few of which have been recorded during the 20th century, all from ancient collections assembled well before systematic excavations made the culture more widely known and appreciated.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 21 December 2023, lot 76
Estimate: EUR 10,000 or approx. EUR 10,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A yellow and russet jade ‘humanoid figure’ pendant, Neolithic period, Hongshan culture
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, stone, subject, and size (5 cm).