ring BM-1885-1227.92

Period:Western Zhou dynasty Production date:18thC-19thC (circa)
Materials:jade
Technique:incised, polished,
Subjects:dragon
Dimensions:Diameter: 13.60 centimetres Height: 1.70 centimetres

Description:
Archaistic jade ring, shaped in the form of a coiled dragon. Made of jade.
IMG


Comments:Rawson 1992:Up to the Qing dynasty, more or less exact replicas of a much wider range of ancient jades were made for scholars and collectors-connoisseurs. Some jade forms were also revived for use in court ceremony: princes and officials carried sceptres based upon shapes they believed to be Han or earlier. Many of them wre probably made to deceive. However, seen in the light of today’s excavations, such jades are relatively easy to distinguish from their ancient models: they are heavier, more colourful and more ornate than ancient pieces. See also BM 1947.0712.495, BM 1973.0726.137 and BM 1947.0712.449.See Rawson 1995, p. 94, fig. 90a, for an illustration of a woodblock from the Fang shi mopu by Fang Yulu (fl. 1570-1619) showing similar coiled dragon. Rawson 1995:Copied from an illustration in the ‘Fang shi mopu’, a compilation of designs for ink cakes made by Fang Yulu (fl. 1570-1619) in the late 16th century AD, and ultimately derived from a Shang or Zhou period pendant, this jade is extremely heavy and much larger than the Shang and Western Zhou examples: it is multiplied in size and reduced in detail. The physical characteristics of the originals have been subverted, producing objects of different weights, colours and textures. See also BM 1937.0416.152 and BM 1937.0416.169.