A FINE MOTTLED JADE DAO BLADE, QIJIA CULTURE

A FINE MOTTLED JADE DAO BLADE, QIJIA CULTURE
China, early Bronze Age, Qijia culture, c. 2200-1600 BC
A fine ceremonial blade, trapezoidal in shape, with slightly slanting short sides, faintly arched top edge, and curved cutting edge. The top pierced with three holes. The softly polished semi-translucent stone showing an intense color play of white, ochre, brown and black hues and whitish alterations.
According to the Cleveland Museum of Art, recent recoveries of similar blades from a pit of a Qijia cultural site located in northwest China reveal that they were originally standing on their edges and were arranged in parallel formations at the ritual ground.
Condition:
Very good condition with age-related wear, calcification, and small chips.
Provenance:
The collection of The Zelnik Istvan Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. Istvan Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Weight:
331 g
Dimensions:
Length 31 cm
LITERATURE COMPARISON:
Compare to closely related DAO blades in 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, by Prof. Filippo Salviati, Nos. 134, 135, 136, pages: 114-117.