China, Neolithic, Hongshan Culture, ca. 3800-2700... Lot 10

China, Neolithic, Hongshan Culture, ca. 3800-2700 B.C.H. 14.2 cmMade of green, somewhat mottled, translucent jade with ochre calcifications, with two opposing holes at the base.From the Zeileis Collection, collected in the 1980s and 1990sThe function of these jade ornaments has often been debated in the past and was once seen as an ornament to be worn on the head through which a braid of hair was passed. A possible other function was thought to be that of a grain meter. However, since this cannot be considered certain either, these objects are usually not described in terms of their function but only in terms of their form.The piece presented here is probably one of the most impressive examples of this genre of jade carving from the Hongshan culture. In form as well as condition and quality of workmanship, it stands out among similar comparative pieces.Cf. one of light green jade in Avery Brundage Collection, in the Asian Art Museum San Francisco, object no. B60J226 as well as two smaller specimens in: Neolithic Jades in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1992, nos. 125 and 126.Cf. also some specimens at past auctions: Sotheby's Hong Kong, July 10, 2020, lot 136; Sotheby's Paris, December 15, 2016, lot 23 (ex coll. Max Loehr); Christie's Hong Kong, November 30, 2016, lot 3209Published in: Friedrich Georg Zeileis, 'Selected Chinese Jade from Seven Millennia', Gallspach, 1994, no. 7, pp. 10-11 - Minim. old Best. at bottom edge.