1. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, March 3, 2008) On this date entered: Period One (Late Neolithic period), Date (3300--2250 BCE), Artist (Liangzhu 良渚 culture), Title, Object name, Geographical region (Lake Tai 太湖 region).
2. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.
3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 19, 2016) Title changed from "Head ornament" to "Decorative fitting for an ornamental comb, with bird"; medium changed from "Jade (serpentine, antigorite)" to "Jade (serpentine)"; added translation, and unpublished research by Paul Singer.
Draft catalogue entry (no. 13) for S2012.9.122 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--1990); by Paul Singer
Ornamental plaque
Neolithic period, 4th millennium BCE
Jade
Width 6.5 cm (22 in)
A roughly trapezoidal plaque now altered to a warm amber is suspended from two small holes drilled through a narrow flat tab at the top. The top corners are cut by concave curves. The bottom edge is also broken by shallow U shaped troughs that flank a stepped projection in the middle. One face of the plaque is plain; the other shows a single bird, its rounded, swelling chest and elegantly sweeping plumes realistically conceived and engraved in flowing lines. The bird stands on one leg with the other leg raised. Its head is especially well defined with crest, pointed beak, and drooping skin under the beak clearly represented. Even though examples of superbly engraved naturalistic motifs are known from archaeological finds, none is as realistic and sophisticated in conception as the bird on this pendant. Both decorated and plain surfaces have been polished to an almost glossy finish interrupted by areas of erosion.
The symbolic meaning of the bird is perhaps twofold. The sun is a most ancient symbol and undoubtedly existed in Neolithic China. The cock awakens and crows at the moment the sun appears on the horizon, and while other birds became shamanistic symbols because of their ability to fly up into the heavens, the cock's significance as a medium between heaven and earth, specifically the sun, imbues it with an important symbolic role. The cock should also be seen as a symbol of fertility in view of its polygamous activity in the hen house.
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