Draft catalogue entry (no. 308) for RLS1997.48.3664 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--1990); by Max Loehr
Bird Silhouette
Western Zhou 周 dynasty, 11th century BCE
Jade
Length 6 cm (2 3/8 in)
The yellowish jade has gray veins. Details are identically engraved on both sides, except for an irregular bevel at the tip of the tail on the left side. A hollow drill was used to drill out the eyes, leaving a wide, shallow depression around them. A small perforation in front of the spiral marks the onset of the wings, rather far forward.
Published: Paul Pelliot, Jades Archaïques de Chine Appartenant à M. C. T. Loo (Paris and Bruxelles: G. Van Oest, 1925), pl. 20: 4.
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