A JADE ‘TAOTIE MASK’ ORNAMENT, ZHOU DYNASTY
China, 8th-3rd century BC. Of triangular section, finely incised to the front with double-line grooves to depict two taotie mask designs, the back with geometric decorations and a central groove leading to a pierced aperture at one end of the pendant. The translucent stone of a green tone with pale brown shadings, icy veins, and areas of creamy white calcification.


Provenance:
Collection of Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939) and thence by descent to his widow Irene Beasley. Collection of Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964), acquired from the above c. 1939 and thence by descent in the same family. With an old label tied to the suspension hole, inscribed in ink ‘Face of “Big Nose God”. Part of Set. Zhou Dyn. Rare Central Pendant. Good Khotan Jade. 53-011.’ Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939) was a British anthropologist and museum curator who developed an important ethnographic collection during the early 20th century that is now held in various British museums. With his wife Irene, Beasley set up the Cranmore Ethnographical Museum which eventually held more than 6,000 objects of ethnographical interest. The Beasleys collected objects from across Europe, buying from auction houses and local museums to expand the collection, which contained material from the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and Northwestern America. Beasley wrote numerous articles for anthropological journals and was considered an expert in his field. He died in 1939 and his collection was stored with the British Museum collections during the war, which was fortunate, as the Cranmore Museum was destroyed by bombing. After the war, substantial portions of the collection were passed to the British Museum, the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of Cambridge, the Pitt Rivers Museum, and the Merseyside County Museum. Other pieces, such as the present lot, were sold by his widow and, after her death in 1974, by their daughters. Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964) was a contributor to the Cranmore Museum and became good friends with Harry Beasley. Shortly after Harry Beasley’s death, he acquired a number of objects from Irene Beasley, including the present lot.

Condition:
Very good condition with minor wear, nibbling, minor signs of weathering and erosion with associated loss to one side. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 6.1 g
Dimensions: Length 3.6 cm


Expert’s note:
The fragmentary nature of the incision work, which is especially evident with the geometric decorations to the back, indicates that this pendant was repurposed from an originally larger jade which broke into pieces thousands of years ago.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 18 March 2009, lot 297
Price: USD 40,000 or approx.
EUR 52,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Rare White Jade Taotie Mask Necklace Closing Device
Expert remark: Note the fragmentary nature of this lot, evident from the interrupted design on the lower end of the carving. Note the similar size (4.2 cm).




周代饕餮紋玉飾

中國，公元前八至三世紀。斷面呈三角形，正面陰刻雙線槽兩個饕餮圖案，背面飾幾何紋飾。兩面中央各有一條細槽，吊墜中央有一道鏤空孔。半透明的綠色調玉石，帶有淺棕色紋理和白色鈣化區域。


來源：
Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939)收藏，他逝世後由其遺孀Irene Beasley保存；Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964)，約於1939年購於上述收藏，之後在同一家族保存至今。Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939) 是一位英國人類學家和博物館館長，他在二十世紀初建立了一個重要的民族志收藏，現在收藏在英國的各個博物館中。Beasley和他的妻子Irene一起建立了Cranmore民族志博物館，該博物館最終收藏了 6,000 多件民族志方面的物品。Beasley 收集了來自歐洲各地的物品，從拍賣行和當地博物館購買以擴大收藏範圍，其中包含來自太平洋、亞洲、非洲和美國西北部的資料。Beasley為人類學期刊撰寫了大量文章，被公認爲是該領域的專家。他於 1939 年去世，他的藏品幸虧在戰爭期間被存放在大英博物館裏，而Cranmore博物館被轟炸摧毀。戰後，大部分藏品被轉移到大英博物館、愛丁堡皇家博物館、劍橋大學考古與人類學博物館、Pitt Rivers博物館和Merseyside County博物館。其他收藏，例如現在的拍品，由他的遺孀出售，在她 1974 年去世後，由他們的女兒出售。Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964) 曾是Cranmore 民族志博物館重要支持人，也曾是 Harry Beasley的好友。在Harry Beasley去世不久，他從Irene Beasley 處購買了一些收藏，包括此件拍品。

品相：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損、磕損和風化，一側有缺損。具有天然紋理裂隙的石料，隨著時間的推移，其中一些可能已經發展成細小的裂紋。

重量：6.1 克
尺寸：長 3.6 厘米


專家注釋：
切割工藝的零碎性，尤其是背面的幾何裝飾，可以推測這件吊墜是從一塊原本較大、數千年前碎裂的玉石中重新利用而成。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2009年3月18日，lot 297
價格：USD 40,000（相當於今日
EUR 52,500
）
描述：商饕餮紋白玉項飾束佩
專家評論：請注意由玉珮末端被中斷的設計可以得知，這塊玉珮也是碎片。請注意相似的尺寸(4.2厘米)。