Owl pendant. Neolithic period, China, Hongshan culture (4700 - 2920 BC).

Owl pendant. Neolithic period, China, Hongshan culture (4700 - 2920 BC).
Pale green and brown jade.
Provenance: Throckmorton Gallery, New York.
A certificate of authenticity will be provided.
Measurements: 10 x 2 x 9.5 cm.

This imposing Neolithic piece, carved in jade in the stylized form of an owl, is an extraordinary example of the zoomorphic art of the Hongshan culture, one of the most sophisticated civilizations of the Neolithic period in East Asia. Its technical refinement indicates that it was not a simple personal adornment, but an object loaded with ritual and possibly shamanic meaning, reserved for funerary or ceremonial contexts of high hierarchy.

The owl, represented frontally and in a symmetrical frontal position, with wings folded to the sides, is distinguished by its large circular eyes carved in relief, its prominent beak and its compact body. This frontal representation, unusual in Neolithic art worldwide but recurrent in Hongshan jades, suggests an apotropaic or totemic function, possibly related to vigilance, spiritual vision or the ability to act as an intermediary between the human and invisible worlds.

The iconography of the owl in the Hongshan repertoire has been the subject of multiple interpretations. Some scholars argue that these nocturnal birds were considered liminal creatures, associated with the world of the dead, the night and rituals of communication with ancestors. Their presence in burial contexts reinforces this hypothesis, and the properties of jade (considered in ancient China as a symbol of incorruptibility, longevity and spiritual virtue) underline the sacred status of the object.

The material, a pale green nephrite with brown veins, was meticulously worked using abrasion techniques with quartz and sandstone tools, without any metallic intervention. The polished surface and partial patina indicate both the passage of time and its possible prolonged use before its funerary deposition.

The upper Puncture suggests its use as a pendant suspended from the neck or chest, perhaps as part of a ceremonial necklace or as a status emblem within a hierarchical community. Alternatively, it may have been attached to ritual vestments or even displayed in the setting of a shrine or funerary space.