18TH CENTURY

Details

A FINE WHITE JADE XI PENDANT
18TH CENTURY
The pendant is carved in the round at the top with a bird's head, with short beak and crest, shown in profile, while the lower curved section is spirally grooved. The semi-translucent stone is of even white color and has a soft polish.
3 in. (7.6 cm.) long

Provenance

Acquired in San Francisco in 1978.

Brought to you by

Michael Bass

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Lot Essay

A white jade xi pendant of this type, with a ram's head-shaped terminal, rather than one of bird's head shape, and a similarly spiralled, tapering tip, is in the Qing Court collection, Beijing, and is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 42 - Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 17, no. 13, where it is dated to the Qing dynasty. Xi pendants of this type and date were based on ancient prototypes, which also had animal head terminals. Xi pendants were hung on a man's belt and used to undo toggles.

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