A BLACK JADE CEREMONIAL BLADE, ZHANG, WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

Expert authentication: Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and guarantees its authenticity and the dating above, noting the style of cutting, workmanship, and thickness and quality of stone with decomposed areas indicating burial all suggest a dating to the Western Zhou dynasty. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A signed and notarized copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 6 August 2011, in the State of New York, 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, 1046-771 BC. The slightly waisted blade flaring towards the curved and beveled cutting edge, and carved on both sides with linear decoration between notched teeth at the edges, the haft with a single hole drilled from one side. The opaque stone of mottled blackish color with a faint network of fine pale gray markings on one side, the stone with a soft polish.

Provenance: From a private collection in New York, United States. Two labels inscribed with inventory numbers, ‘58126’ and ‘7520’.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, signs of weathering, and minuscule nibbling.

Weight: 355 g
Dimensions: Length 42.5 cm

Forked blades (zhang) first made their appearance during the Neolithic period, although their source of inspiration remains unknown as the form has no prototype in stone implements of the period. The function of this type of blade has been an area of discussion, and interpretations of it as a military implement have bene suggested in ancient texts such as Zhouli (Rites of Zhou), as well as Zheng Xuan's commentaries in the Eastern Han dynasty. Blades of this form are often of large size and are finely and thinly carved, suggesting a ceremonial function, which is consistent with archaeological excavation findings from sacrificial pits.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related jade ceremonial zhang blade, dated ca. 2000-1600 BC, 33.5 cm long, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number A.62-1936. Compare a related jade zhang blade with incised decoration, dated late Shang to Western Zhou dynasty, 42.2 cm long, in the Jinsha Site Museum, Chengdu.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2015, lot 562
Price: USD 100,000 or approx. EUR 129,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A blackish opaque jade ceremonial blade, Zhang, China, late Neolithic period-Shang dynasty, 2nd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and stone of similar color. Note the size (29.5 cm).