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A RARE GRAY JADE MASK OF A HUMAN FACE, WARRING STATES PERIOD
奥地利 北京时间
04月10日 下午5点 开拍 /4天11小时
拍品描述
Expert authentication: Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and confirms 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 475-221 BC. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A signed copy of Dr. Gu's expertise, dated 8 February 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, 475-221 BC. Of flattened form with geometrically arranged features. The almond-shaped eyes and mouth as well as the nostrils and edges of the face are pierced, while the facial hair and outlines of the eyelids, lips, ears, and nose are neatly incised. The translucent stone is of a pale gray color with black and dark gray veins and shadings.Provenance: From a private collection in New York, United States. Two labels inscribed with inventory numbers, '15934' and '84638' Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Ancient wear, areas of calcification, signs of weathering and erosion, nibbling, and small old chips to edges. The jade with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.Weight: 208 g Dimensions: Height 16.6 cmThe origin of masks in Chinese culture is linked to a legend from the Warring States period. The tale recounts how Wu Zixu, a general of Wu, warned King Fuchai of a future threat from King Goujian of Yue. Distrusting him, Fuchai ordered Wu Zixu's suicide. A decade later, Goujian conquered Wu, and Fuchai, in despair, took his own life, covering his face to avoid confronting Wu Zixu in the afterlife. Though recorded in historical texts, the story's accuracy remains uncertain.The custom of covering the faces of the deceased in fact predates the era of King Fuchai and can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. Red pottery bowls covering the faces of the deceased were unearthed from tombs of the Dawenkou culture in the coastal areas of Jiangsu Province. The reasons behind this custom remain subject to speculation, with no consensus reached among scholars. The masks unearthed are mainly made from gold, jade, bronze, textile, shell, and leather.The face was stitched onto a piece of silk and then tied with pendants to cover the owner's face in the coffin, hoping to prevent the body from decaying. This practice is considered to date from the Zhou Dynasty and was then handed down to the Chu Kingdom.Literature comparison:Compare a closely related jade mask of a human face, dated to the Warring States period, excavated from Tomb 2 at Qinjiashan, Jingzhou, Hubei, and now in the Jingzhou Museum, illustrated in Susan Erickson, Ways of Facing the Dead in Ancient China, Arts Asiatiques, tome 67, 2012, pp. 22, where the author notes ''[…] it is unlikely [the mask] was supposed to be a representation of the deceased who is female, and instead […] may have functioned in a protective role […].Auction result comparison:Type: RelatedAuction: China Guardian, Hong Kong, 8 October 2023, lot 607Price: HKD 1,104,000 or approx. EUR 142,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing: An extremely rare jade maskExpert remark: Compare the similar form and material. Note the size (23.5 cm) and that the mask is composed of two halves.13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.
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拍品估价:4,000 - 8,000 欧元 起拍价格:4,000 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00% 服务费:本专场服务费按成交价(含佣金)的1.5%收取,最低200元

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