A RARE CHINESE WHITE AND RUSSET JADE 'DRAGON' PENDANT

A RARE CHINESE WHITE AND RUSSET JADE 'DRAGON' PENDANT
Please note the dating for this lot should read this lot should read Warring States Period or later

The pendant is finely carved in the shape of a sinuous dragon with crested head and its coiled body detailed on both sides with a double band of comma-spirals, the spine and curled tail are finely incised with hair, the stone ranging from white to russet with dark brown markings, 9.5cm x 12.5cm.

Provenance: from the collection of David Taylor (1876-1958) and thence by descent. David Taylor was a successful businessman of Scottish descent who was born in Northern Ireland. He resided in Belfast and owned various commercial buildings, shops and a farm. He also had a substantial portfolio of stocks and shares. These jade items were acquired by Taylor during his travels to East Asia in the early 20th century.

Dragon-shaped jade pendants first appear in the 5th century BC, and over the following century they became popular components of ritual ornaments used by the nobility. Towards the end of the Bronze Age when these pendants were created, sinuously curved dragons had become prominent motifs in many luxurious materials. Contemporary literature suggests that such dynamic creatures were not merely decorative but also were believed to be supernatural beings. When buried with the deceased, jade pendants like these may have reflected widely held beliefs in the dragon as a vehicle that could transport the human soul on its journey in the afterlife.

Many related jade dragon pendants are illustrated in Jades of Warring States Period, The Aurora Museum, Shanghai, detailing how they were worn (p.13), and fig.64 has a pendant with the same unusual spine detailed with hair; figs.108 and 112 are also close comparables both from the Aurora Art Museum Collection. See also The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware I, p.1 pl.149, for an example in the Qing Court Collection. For another pair of related pendants from the Edward and Louise B Sonnenschein Collection, see the Art Institute of Chicago, accession no.1950.641. See also Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9th October 2022, lot 13 for a closely related white jade dragon pendant from the Hei-Chi Collection.

戰國 玉雕曲體龍佩
來源：大維德·泰勒（1876-1958）收藏，之後由其後人繼承。泰勒先生是一位成功的蘇格蘭商人。他出生於北愛爾蘭，在貝爾法斯特長大，其名下有很多商務樓、店面、農場及可觀的股票投資組合。這組拍品為泰勒先生早於二十世紀初期到東亞旅行時購入。