China, 475 BC to 8 AD. Of trapezoidal form and lenticular section, finely carved in low relief to both sides with a sinuous chilong, its head with a single horn, the coiled body dissolved into scrolls and hooks, the tail furcated. The top pierced with two apertures. The opaque stone of a mottled gray tone with deep-brown, almost plum-colored shadings and dark striations.

Provenance: Professor David Seares Watson. Sotheby’s London, 19 October 1965, lot 4 (dated to the Han dynasty). Dr. Wou Kiuan, acquired from the above. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, coll. no. E.8.36. A copy of the catalog entry and illustration for the present lot from Sotheby’s London, 19 October 1965, lot 4, noting the buyer as “Wou” and a purchase price of thirty British pounds and eight shillings, roughly equivalent to a monthly salary at the time, accompanies this lot. Professor David Meredith Seares Watson, FRS FGS HFRSE LLD (1886-1973), was the Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at University College, London, from 1921 to 1951. He received many awards and academic honors including the Darwin Medal from the Royal Society, the Linnean Medal from the Linnean Society, the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London, and honorary degrees from many universities in Britain and elsewhere. Besides his interest in fossils, he was also an avid collector of Chinese works of art, his collection being auctioned by Sotheby’s in London after he retired in 1965.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected old wear, traces of use, weathering, some erosion with associated losses, minor nicks, the stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time. Despite the obvious traces and marks that millennia of burial have left, this still displays remarkably well.

Expert's note (added 18.2.2023): The current lot is nearly identical to a jade chape featured in a diagram of Han Dynasty sword fittings at the Henan Provincial Museum in Zhengzhou (see image section). The diagram is worth noting as both chapes feature imagery of writhing dragons, which stand in contrast to the more commonly seen geometric motif of archaic c-scroll clouds. This diagram, combined with the stellar provenance, solidifies this chape as an early period example.

Weight: 20.4 g
Dimensions: Height 3.9 cm

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 April 2010, lot 2071
Price: HKD 118,750 or approx. EUR 20,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A jade scabbard chape, Western Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related form and depiction of a chilong, though carved in a slightly different manner (and only to one side of the chape). Note the similar size (4.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2021, lot 459
Price: HKD 189,000 or approx. EUR 23,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A jade sword chape Late Eastern Zhou - Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related form and the slightly larger similar size (5.2 cm).



戰國至西漢玉劍珌
中國，公元前475 年至公元 8 年。劍璏呈梯形，截面呈雙凸透鏡狀，兩面浮雕雄健捲曲的蟠螭，頭部有角，尾部分叉。頂部穿兩孔。窄下寬略呈梯形。斑駁的灰色不透明石料，帶有深棕色，近紫紅色的斑紋和條紋，打磨光滑。

來源：David Seares Watson教授；倫敦蘇富比，1965年10月19日，lot 4 (漢代)；吳權博士，購於上述拍賣。吳蓮伯美術館，館藏編號 E.8.36。隨附一份蘇富比拍賣目錄複印件，上面寫著“Wou”，售價30英鎊8先令。David Meredith Seares Watson教授，FRS FGS HFRSE LLD (1886-1973)，1921 年至 1951 年任倫敦大學喬德雷爾動物學和比較解剖學教授。他獲得了許多獎項和學術榮譽，包括皇家學會的達爾文獎章、林奈學會的林奈獎章、地質學會的沃拉斯頓獎章、倫敦學會，以及英國和其他地方許多大學的榮譽學位。除了對化石的興趣之外，他還是一位忠實的中國藝術品收藏家，他的藏品在 1965 年退休後在倫敦蘇富比拍賣行拍賣。
品相：品相良好，有磨損、使用痕跡、風化、一些侵蝕和相關缺損、輕微劃痕、帶有天然裂縫的石料，其中一些隨著時間的推移已經發展成細小的裂紋。

重量：20.4 克
尺寸：高 3.9 厘米

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2010年4月7日，lot 2071
價格：HKD 118,750（相當於今日EUR 20,000）
描述：西漢玉劍珌
專家評論：比較相近的外形，以及裝飾螭龍，但雕刻風格不同，只有一面雕刻。請注意尺寸(4.5 厘米)相似。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2021年11月30日 ，lot 459
價格：HKD 189,000（相當於今日EUR 23,000）
描述：東周末至漢玉劍珌
專家評論：比較相近的外形和尺寸(5.2 厘米)稍大。