4 a 8 AS i ve 4 " WM Sl = — aa) <2) 6B — Zz bl ae oe 0 — — ae a, << Puate | z RECTANGULAR FINELY PouIsHED SLAB, 36x21 INcuEs, 200 Las. In WEIGHT. PresuMAaBLy Usep as AN ALTAR IN ImperiaL Worsuip, SHANG Periop. ARCHAIC CHINESE JADES COLLECTED IN CHINA BY A. W. BAHR NOW IN FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CHICAGO DESCRIBED BY BERTHOLD LAUFER THIRTY-SIX PLATES, THREE OF WHICH ARE COLORED NEW YORK PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR A. W. BAHR . 1927 PREFACE IHE assembling of this collection of archaic Chinese jades extended over many years of residence in China, and was only completed last year when on a visit there I was able— due to the unsettled condition of the country—to add hitherto unob- tainable specimens from famous private collections, as well as jades from the recent excavations in Ho-nan. The collection was made by me both from an archaeological and aesthetic point of view. It is of archaeological importance as these jade objects were used in the little. understood ancient Chinese re- ligious and burial ceremonies and for court and social functions. Artistically they merit admiration for their simplicity, which is re- duced to a minimum, and their fine proportions. The color and the texture of the stone are skilfully utilized, and the treatment ranges from the symbolic or abstract to the naturalistic. These ancient jades, chiefly derived from bowlders or pebbles, have a greater variety of color than more recent ones, and most of this material is no longer found. For years I have had access to the important collections of native connoisseurs for purposes of study; and when the troublous times forced the owners to part with some of their most cherished treasures, I spared neither pains nor expense in seeking especially rare or unique specimens. In this way I was able to obtain many fine jades from numerous noted collections; among the most important of these are remarkable examples from the famous collection of Wu Ta-ch‘eng (through Fei Chung-sheng, his son-in-law). The late Wu Ta-ch‘eng was the foremost collector and critic of archaic jades of the nineteenth century. His study of antique jades, Ku yi t‘u k‘ao (“Investigations [ 5 | PREFACE into Ancient Jades with Illustrations’’), published in 1889, is the most recent and valuable Chinese contribution to the subject. Other jades in my collection come from the possession of Ku Hao-i, a descendant of a prominent old Su-chou family. I was fortunate enough also to acquire a number of the jades found at Sin-cheng in Ho-nan in 1923, the site of the recent important excavation of Chou bronzes. They were procured from an ex-Tupan of K‘ai-feng fu, capital of the prov- ince. Their workmanship and style are of the highest quality, and suggest the existence of a local school of lapidaries, probably confined to the district, not second in skill to the makers of the bronzes. This collection has been carefully examined, and all attributions as to periods have been carefully and critically considered. It was also my good fortune to have the active assistance and sympathetic co-operation of Dr. Berthold Laufer, Curator in the Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago, who has added still further to the sum of my obligation and gratitude by preparing this catalogue. It is my hope that this collection will serve to interest the public in the little known early civilization of China, from the Shang dynasty downward, and to further the appreciation of its art. New York, March 1, 1927. A. W. Baur. INTRODUCTION ~ A BOUT a year ago I received a letter from Mr. A. W. Bahr A who was then in China, informing me of the acquisition of a very comprehensive collection of archaic jades and requesting me to study it and prepare a descriptive catalogue of it on his behalf. Naturally I welcomed the opportunity of widening my experience in this attractive field of research, and the fact that Mr. Bahr had ob- tained a number of important pieces from Wu Ta-ch‘eng’s collection considerably enhanced my curiosity. Wu Ta-ch‘eng’s famous book had served as the foundation of my monograph “‘Jade,”’ but, as every one knows, the outline sketches in Chinese works of archaeology do not allow one to judge the appearance and structure of the stone or even details of design which in many cases are misdrawn or may even be neglected. The advantage of having the originals in lieu of insuf- ficient drawings is self-evident. On going over the collection consist- ing of upward of 650 individual pieces almost two-thirds of which belong to the early archaic epoch, it surpassed all my expectations; and all those who have had the opportunity of viewing the collection expressed their keenest appreciation of its scientific and artistic value. Of illustrious visitors mention is only made of Crown-prince Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Queen Marie of Rumania, who were unani- mous in their praise. It is very gratifying that meanwhile the entire Bahr collection has passed into the possession of Field Museum, and I wish to express my obligations to the donors who have kindly con- tributed to the fund: Mrs. George T. Smith, Mrs. John J. Borland, Miss Kate S. Buckingham, Mr. Martin Ryerson, Mr. Julius Rosen- wald, Mr. Otto C. Doering, and Mr. Martin C. Schwab, all of Chi- cago. Above all, however, my cordial and lasting gratitude is due [es INTRODUCTION to Mrs. George T. Smith, who took the initiative in the movement and aroused general interest in securing this important collection for Chicago. Combined with two collections obtained by me in China in 1909 and 1923, Field Museum now owns about a thousand pieces of Chinese jade of all descriptions and periods, but particularly representative of the early dynasties. 7 One of the many attractive features of these ancient jades is that they are carved from a material no longer obtainable and that these stones display an infinite variety of colors quite at variance with those occurring in the jades of more recent date. The principal sources of supply of ancient jade were water-worn bowlders or pebbles fished from streams, but the mineral was also quarried in situ in several mines located in China. The consumption of this much coveted mate- rial progressed so rapidly that the supply became exhausted by the third or second century B.c. when the Chinese were compelled to search for jade outside of their country and imported it from Upper Burma and from Khotan in Turkestan. The latter is usually plain white or green, or green mingled with white. The ancient Chinese carvings, however, display all sorts of colors—gray, white, white and black, pure black, bluish, russet, yellow, brown, fawn, and innumer- able shades of green. | As the earliest manifestations of artistic tendencies and as expo- nents of refined religious sentiments, these archaic jades form a most fruitful source for a study of ancient art as well as ancient religious and mythological conceptions, and present a veritable treasure-trove of information. At the time of the Chou there was no official priest-_ hood: the father was the priest of his clan; the prince, the priest of his kingdom; and the emperor, the pontifex maximus of the nation. Religion mainly consisted in nature-worship: the great cosmic powers, Heaven and Earth and the Four Quarters, were the principal objects [ 8 | . 1 INTRODUCTION of worship. These six powerful deities, however, were not conceived as personal gods, and were accordingly not represented as human beings; the conception of anthropomorphic images is entirely foreign to China in times prior to Buddhism, but in consonance with the abstract metaphysical mind of the ancient Chinese, which reduced all phenomena to a fixed numerical system, the images of the supreme deities were found by means of geometric construction. The most precious material known to them, jade, was utilized in making these images. The deity Heaven was conceived of as circular, and his image was personified in a perforated disk of jade. There is a great variety of such disks of all dimensions and colors. The emperor was believed to receive his mandate from Heaven, and by his command ruled as the son of Heaven. Hence a disk of this type was also the emblem of sovereignty; when the feudal princes paid a visit to the emperor’s court, they rendered homage to him by the presentation of such a jade disk. As jade was believed to embody qualities of solar light and to communicate directly with heavenly powers by means of its transcendental properties, the sovereign was able to commune and consult with Heaven through the medium of this disk. It was also buried with the dead. If of green or bluish color, this jade sym- bolizes the natural color of the sky, and further the sprouting and budding of vegetation created by Heaven. | The philosophy of the ancient Chinese was dualistic and classified all phenomena as male and female, as light and darkness, as heat and cold, as positive and negative. These two primeval forces were seen active in Heaven and Earth, and the union of the two and their constant interaction was believed to have resulted in the creation of nature and man. They were the two creative forces of the universe. Earth was therefore as important a deity as Heaven. Both were looked upon as the father and mother of all beings, as the sovereign [9 ] INTRODUCTION was the father and the mother of the nation. A passage in the ancient Book of Rites is as follows: ‘‘Sacrifices to the deity Earth were made to honor the beneficial actions of Earth, for Earth harbors all beings, and Heaven holds the stars and constellations suspended. We derive our food and wealth from Earth, we derive the regulation of our labors from Heaven. For this reason we honor Heaven and love Earth, and we therefore teach our people to return thanks to them.” This was the farmer’s emotional religion: to honor Heaven and to love Mother Earth. Now Earth was conceived as being flat and square or angular outside and rounded in the interior. Therefore, the deity Earth was revered under the image of a hollow tube of jade, rectangular in cross section and round inside, usually with a short projecting neck at both ends. The color of earth was yellow or brown, and, if possible, stones of such colors were selected for this image (see Plate XVI). The “‘teeth”’ in the corners are compared with the teeth of a saw, and the notches between them were wrapped around with silken bands. Silk was a gift of the deity Earth, and when silk cocoons were offered to the empress, she availed herself of such a tube as a weight-stone in weighing silk. When a feudal prince visited another, he presented the spouse of his host with a jade symbol of this kind, eight inches high. This applies to princes of the first rank. As every- thing was regulated by fixed rules, princes of the second and third ranks offered pieces only six inches in height; those of the Bs and fifth ranks, pieces four inches high. . _ This object, accordingly, referred to foiled power and was the sovereign emblem of the empress. Made of a smaller size (Plate XVII, Fig. 2), it was used for burial purposes, and in the grave it was placed on the chest of the corpse. In this case also it alluded to the deity Earth. The jade disk symbolizing Heaven was placed on the back of the body. The idea underlying this custom was that man as the [ 10 ] INTRODUCTION product of the combined forces of Heaven and Earth and being inter- mediary between the two, cannot be separated from them, and should also rest between them in his subterranean slumber. In general the art of the Chou is impersonal, ritualistic, and sacro- sanct, with little or no trace of realism in the designs adorning the surfaces of bronze vessels. These principally are of a geometric char- acter, and are blended with conventionalized figures of animals, birds, reptiles, and fantastic mythological creations. The ornamental jades of the same period reveal an amazing feature inasmuch as they allow us to discriminate between two essential schools—one working after the conventional patterns of the bronze-founders and another freely and independently producing naturalistic types of animals, birds, fishes, and insects (see Plates X XI and following). In the thirty-six plates of this Catalogue altogether one hundred and forty-six objects are illustrated; that is, less than one-fourth of the whole collection. It was a difficult task to make the proper selec- tion from so large a number of specimens, and many new types as well as many beautiful carvings, unfortunately, had to be set aside for the present. In the new edition of my monograph “‘Jade,”’ how- ever, which is in course of preparation, the Bahr collection in its entirety will be embodied, and there also the various types will be discussed in detail in their historical setting and proper significance. The object of this Catalogue is merely to make a preliminary an- nouncement of the Bahr collection and point out some of its significant features. Even with all its limitations and brevity it will reveal a great deal that is new. The archaic period is represented by about 470 pieces; the Han period, by about 105; and the middle ages (Wei, T‘ang, and Sung), by about 70 pieces. B. Laurer. Bilozi, Miss., February 16, 1927. ores bs - iok | a7] ares § 6 05) ¥ t \ i? j ‘ ; aes . phe 4 he Vets Pat bt eT ee ere tee | } fh Ms 6 yruse is "si" WuHitTE JADE Figure or Lapy, FRonT anv BaAcr > PLaTE XXXVI BAHRK COLLECELIOW JADE RuytToNn, SuNG PERIOD. 4 a vedi pote Saat ih . et ed piace: —R. R. 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