Neolithic Chinese Liangzhu Jade Amulet Offering with 2 Pig Dragons “Zhulong"

Description

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Artifacts, Antiques & Fine Collect
i
bles
Chinese Jade Double
Pig Dragons “
Zhulong
”
Ritual Double Offering to the Ancestors
Pictographic Character Inscription
c. Liangzhu Culture
3500 BC—2200 BC
“A Dragon can be unseen or visible, minute or huge,
long or short.  However, always it is great.”
—Shuo Wen (c. 100 AD)
NOTE:
William D. Houghton, the President of ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
, a State of Washington Licensed Business,
assumes all responsibility for the information contained in this description and for the English translation and transcription of the ancient Chinese graphic characters.
Furthermore, I prohibit the further dissemination of this information in any written, video, or electronic format without my expressed, written approval.
Thank You!
SUMMARY
Item:
Chinese Jade Double Pig Dragons “
Zhulong
” Amulet
Material:
Highly polished nephrite jade
Country:
China
Culture:
Liangzhu Culture
Date:
3500 BC—2200 BC
Measurements:
·
Height:
2.75” (70mm)
·
Width:
2.75” (70mm)
·
Depth:
.76” (19mm)
·
Weight:
5.4 oz. (152gr)
·
Diameter of Center Hole:
.44” (11mm)
Condition:
This nephrite jade, Liangzhu Culture Double Pig Dragon amulet is in museum quality condition for being about 5,000-years-old.
The celadon green jade has turned an amazing shade of orange/brown from the iron and other elements in the damp soil that have been absorbed into and from the jade after being buried for thousands of years.
This patina should never be removed, because the natural patina is one way to identify an authentic Liangzhu jade.
Provenance: This amulet/pendant is one of several items that was obtained from a private collector in China.
I believe these pendants would have been included in an Emperor’s tomb or temple to provide him a safe journey and eternal life in Heaven.
This is the first time it has been offered for sale in the United States.
The Z
hulong
(literally, « dragon-pig »), is a magical creature with a body of a pig and the large, single-crested head of dragon, with two forcefully pricked-up ears, large round holes for eyes, and a flat snout.
It is a hybrid being, the cross between pig and dragon that reflects the imperial power of the Dragon Emperor and the vital food source of the domesticated pig.
Offerings such as this amulet would have been made in honor of the death of an elite class member of Hongshan society.
Sacrifices of jade, raw meat, ritual wine, and money (in the form of cowrie shells) were made to the Ancestors in Heaven (
Tian
) so that the departed would have a safe journey to immortal life in Heaven.
Painted in black paint on all sides of the amulet are incredibly small pictographs that verify that this man/woman was the Emperor or at a minimum held a high-level position in the Emperor’s court or his family, as no ordinary man or woman would have dared to have an Imperial Dragon on a piece of jade that would have been placed in a tomb or in his or her temple. {See details below.}
This 5,000-year-old ritual jade amulet contains several pictographs and characters that were painted onto the jade dragon; however, the characters have faded over millennia and are undecipherable.
These pictographic characters on ritual and tomb jades are the earliest form of a written language in ancient China.
Modern archeologists call these early pictograms oracle bone script as they have been found as a permanent record that was written by scribes on both oracle bones of cattle and on ritual jade artifacts.
NOTE:
Items offered for sale by Ancient Civilizations are unconditionally guaranteed authentic. They were legally imported to the United States years ago and are legal to sell and own under U.S. Statute Title 19, Chapter 14, Code 2611, Convention on Cultural Property.
DETAILS
This jade double Pig Dragon dates to the Neolithic Chinese people known as the Liangzhu Culture (3500 BC—2200 BC).
Amulets such as this Pig Dragon one served as a protective amulet against Evil Spirits that could prevent the man’s soul from reaching immortality in Heaven.
The double Pig Dragons symbolized double protection against the Evil Spirits.
There are double suspension holes that also serve as the two pig’s eyes.  The holes are classified as a "double conical hole" and is period correct for this time period.
They were drilled by hand with slow-speed drills from both sides, and you can still see the ridge in the center of the hole.  These are all authentic and period correct.
The hole in the center is classified as a “uniform bore hole” and it was drilled, by hand from both sides.
It measures about 11mm in diameter, and you can still see the ridge in the center of the hole.  These are all indicators of an authentic artifact that is about 5,000-years-old.
It was necessary to drill from both sides with a hollow, bamboo tube or animal bone that would be dipped into abrasive and then rotated rapidly against the stone to affect a ring-form type of hole, leaving the solid core intact.
Therefore, the meeting place of the two borings is not true to a single, straight channel and a curved remnant ridge that is not ground or polished-out remains at the common junction.
The center core was often snapped off by tapping or pushing the center core to one side and thus completing the long hole. This same procedure was used to drill the two suspension holes.
This center hole was thought to be a poral to the Heavens.
Around this hole, there is an exquisite, incised border into the hard jade that is found only on Liangzhu jades and has the finest of cut lines that are utterly amazing.
Some experts suggest that a diamond or even an iron meteorite awl was used by the Neolithic stone masons to make these ultra-thin cut lines, as Neolithic, Bronze-Age cultures did not have iron tools to incise the extremely hard jade.
Dragon Symbolism in China
In China, the Dragon (in Chinese “
Long
”) has for millennia been the symbol of the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, eternity, Yang and Yin, as well as for male vigor and fertility.
The Dragon is considered as one of the 12 Ornaments and one of the most comp00lex and multi-tiered Chinese symbols. The Chinese dragon can fiercely protect one from Evil Spirits and harm.
The nine major characteristics of a lung-type dragon include a camel-like head, deer-like horns, hare-like eyes, bull-like ears, an iguana-like neck, a frog-like belly, carp-like scales, tiger-like paws and eagle-like claws.
This bronze dragon has a pair of large canine teeth and long, tendril-like whiskers extending from either side of its mouth that were thought to be used for feeling its way along the bottom of muddy ponds.
In China, the dragon is credited with having great powers that allowed it to make rain and control floods by striking the river with its mighty tail, for example.
Dragons are also revered for their ability to transport humans to the celestial realms after death.
They are symbols of the natural world, adaptability, and transformation to immortal status. When two dragons are placed together in opposite directions, they symbolize eternity, i.e., the famous Yin-Yang symbol.
Chinese emperors literally thought they were the real dragons and Sons of Heaven. Thus, the beds they slept on are called "dragon beds;" the throne, a "dragon seat;" and the emperor's ceremonial dresses are known as "dragon robes."
In the minds of the early Chinese people, the dragon was a god that embodied the will and ideals of the Chinese people. It is said that the dragon is a large-scaled reptile, which can become dark or bright, large or small, long or short, and fly into the sky in the spring and live underwater in the fall.
It seems that the dragon is capable of doing almost anything.
Traditionally, the dragons were considered the governors of rainfalls in Chinese culture. They had the power to decide where and when it would rain. They also believed kings of water dragons lived in dragon palaces under the ocean. The Chinese sign for the dragon appeared during the Yin and Shang dynasties (16th-11th century BC -- the period of the earliest Chinese hieroglyphs), between inscriptions on bones and turtle shields. The inscriptions depicted a horned reptile, with teeth, scales and sometimes even claws.
In ancient China, nobody had any doubt about the existence of dragons. People showed great respect for any depictions of dragons -- in paintings, carvings, and writings. As a result, the dragon became the symbol of the Chinese nation. All people in China, including the emperor, prostrated themselves before the image of a dragon with reverence and awe. As a result, this fictional creature became the spiritual sustenance for the nation first as the totem of a tribe and then as the symbol of the nation. Eventually, the dragon became the symbol on the national flag of the last feudal dynasty, the Qing Dynasty. The Chinese people considered themselves the descendants of the dragon.
As the emblem of the emperor and imperial command, the legend of the Chinese dragon permeates the ancient Chinese civilization and has shaped its culture. Its benevolence signifies greatness, goodness and blessings.
REFERENCES:
•
The Ancestral Landscape
, David N. Knightley, 2000
•
Chinese Characters
, Dr. L. Wieger, S.J.
•
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
•
Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America, Feb/March 2015
•
Shanghai Museum, China
•
Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, China
•
National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
•
British Museum, UK
•
Smithsonian Museum, Sackler & Freer Gallery, WDC
Please examine the macro photos carefully as they are part of the description.
The stand and AA battery not part of the auction, just included to give you a better perspective.
And please ask any questions before you buy.
International Buyers are responsible for all import duties, import taxes, shipping charges and insurance costs.
International Returns are
NOT
accepted.
Note:
Please ask any questions you may have before you bid!  Thanks for Looking!