A JADE RING, QIJIA Jade. China, Qijia culture, c. 2200-1600 BC

The exquisitely multicolored jade showing numerous striations, dots, and large patches of different nuances of color ranging from beige, to light and dark brown, russet, and black. Only small areas of the original translucent jade are noticeable on the otherwise chalky jade.

The circumference is slightly irregular, as the central hole, thus giving the ring an uneven width.

Compare a celadon and russet-brown jade ring at Sotheby’s London in Important Chinese Art on 6 November 2019, lot 225, sold for GBP 4,000, and two related rings at Christie’s Hong Kong in The Chang Wei-Hwa Collection of Archaic Jades, Part I - Neolithic Period on 27 November 2019, lots 2755 (sold for HKD 68,750) and 2757 (sold for HKD 106,250).

DIAMETER 9.5 cm

Provenance: Collection of Prof. Filippo Salviati, acquired in Beijing in the early 2000s.