China, 1100 to 771 BC. The flattened plaque is finely carved with a bird below a coiled dragon and an elephant’s head merged with the dragon’s tail. Both sides are neatly enhanced with double-line grooves and various geometric designs. The translucent stone is of a pale celadon tone with distinct shades of beige-brown and white alteration along one side.

Provenance: From the collection of David Taylor, and thence by descent within the Taylor family. David Taylor (1876-1958) was a notable British businessman who lived in Belfast and owned various commercial buildings along with a substantial portfolio of stocks and shares. During his travels to China in the early 20^th century, he acquired many jades, including the present lot. His grandfather, Sir David Taylor, was born in 1815 in Perth, Scotland, and moved to Belfast in 1842, serving as its Mayor in 1867 and for two consecutive terms in 1883 and 1884.
Condition: The stone with minor nicks, losses, light surface scratches, natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time. One small aperture drilled to upper end, below a smoothened loss, is a later addition. It is obvious that a segment at the top of the plaque is missing; although one can only speculate about the carving, considering comparable jades such as the one mentioned in the Auction result comparison below, it is reasonable to think it was a depiction of a human head.

Expert’s note: Note that in the 19th and earlier 20th century, when the previous owner David Taylor was frequently travelling to China, it was common that pieces with damage or losses such as the present lot were subject to improvised ‘repair measures’ to make them suitable for sale to Western visitors. The present jade was most likely a dragon-human form pendant, a rare and important type from the Western Zhou dynasty, which was however incomplete and thus sold off.

Weight: 70.4 g
Dimensions: Length 10.9 cm, Width 4.3 cm

Auction result comparison: Compare a related jade dragon-human form pendant, also dated to the Western Zhou dynasty, of smaller size (8.7 cm), at Christie’s Hong Kong in Chinese Archaic Jades From The Yangdetang Collection PART II on 28 November 2018, lot 2743, sold for HKD 187,500.


西周青玉掛件
中國，公元前1100至771 年。扁平狀平雕，龍下有鳥與龍尾融為一體，采用雙鈎陰線方式，運用不同紋飾。半透明玉料呈淺青色，一側有明顯的米褐色和白色内沁。

來源：David Taylor收藏，自此一直保存在Taylor家族中。David Taylor (1876-1958) 曾是一位著名的英國商人，住在貝爾法斯特，擁有各種商業建築以及大量股票和股份。二十世紀初，他到中國旅行時購買了許多玉器，包括現在的這件。 他的祖父戴維·泰勒爵士 1815 年出生於蘇格蘭Perth，1842 年移居Belfast，1867 年擔任市長，1883 年和 1884 年連任。
品相：玉料上有輕微的刻痕、缺損、劃痕、天然裂紋，隨著時間的推移，其中一些已經發展成細小的細裂紋。 一個鉆孔，應是後來添加的。很明顯，斑塊頂部的有一段缺失；雖然只能推測，考慮到類似的玉石，例如拍賣結果比較中提到的，有理由認為它雕刻了一個人頭。

重量：70.4 克
尺寸：長10.9 厘米, 寬4.3 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的西周人龍合體玉件，尺寸稍小 (8.7 厘米)，見香港佳士得Chinese Archaic Jades From The Yangdetang Collection PART II 2018年11月28日, lot 2743, 售價HKD 187,500。