A JADE 'DRAGON' PENDANT, WARRING STATES PERIOD
A JADE 'DRAGON' PENDANT, WARRING STATES PERIOD
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2012:
“No. 704, Plaque representing a dragon China Fighting Kingdoms [i.e. Warring States] period (300 BC) white jade, FH 1986”
Gallery price: EUR 4,650 or approx.
EUR 6,600 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.
China, 475-221 BC. Of flattened form, finely carved as a sinuous single-horned dragon with its head turned back, the lower body terminating in a phoenix head with a curved beak. Both sides are detailed with neatly raised scroll designs, and the back is pierced with an aperture for suspension. The opaque creamy hued stone is of a pale celadon tone with extensive calcification.
Provenance: Freddy Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by 1986. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for 40 years.
Freddy Hansen was a Danish dealer of Asian art and antiquities, particularly Buddhist sculpture. Based in Copenhagen, he was active from the 1950s onward and became one of Denmark's most prominent dealers in Asian art before his retirement in the early 1990s.
Jorgen Ruben is a Danish art dealer and collector who has been active for over four decades and is highly regarded in the fields of Asian art and classical antiquities. Raised in an art-conscious family, Ruben was exposed early to both modern painting and European decorative arts. He began working in the art trade in the mid-1970s, first with Persian rugs and later with antiques, while travels to Iran and a visit to Persepolis sparked his lasting interest in antiquity. After studies in Copenhagen and London, he worked in England with a dealer in early furniture, before travelling widely in Latin America and Asia, deepening his knowledge of regional art and culture. In 1984 Ruben opened a gallery in Copenhagen dealing in Asian antiquities. He was later active in London and, in the early 2000s, operated the Brussels gallery Classic Art. Much of his career, however, has been conducted privately from home, selling by appointment to collectors, galleries, and museums. Ruben has always bought selectively, choosing only works that deeply engaged him, and often keeping them for many years until placing them with a collector he felt truly understood them.
Important Note: For essential information on the
Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger
Condition: shows repaired breakages and associated small losses, few tiny chips to exposed areas, and signs of weathering.
Weight: 10 g (the jade), 177 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 6.5 cm, size 7.6 x 10.8 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated modern stand. (2)
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade pendant in the form of a dragon, dated 500-400 BC, 10.2 cm long, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number FE.27-1973. Compare a related pale celadon jade dragon pendant, dated to the Warring States period, 7 cm long, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S1987.851.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 27 June 2025, lot 158
Price: EUR 4,160 or approx.
EUR 4,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic yellow & russet jade dragon pendant, Eastern Zhou dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the similar subject and pose. Note the size (8 cm) and color of the jade.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
A JADE 'DRAGON' PENDANT, WARRING STATES PERIOD
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2012:
“No. 704, Plaque representing a dragon China Fighting Kingdoms [i.e. Warring States] period (300 BC) white jade, FH 1986”
Gallery price: EUR 4,650 or approx.
EUR 6,600 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.
China, 475-221 BC. Of flattened form, finely carved as a sinuous single-horned dragon with its head turned back, the lower body terminating in a phoenix head with a curved beak. Both sides are detailed with neatly raised scroll designs, and the back is pierced with an aperture for suspension. The opaque creamy hued stone is of a pale celadon tone with extensive calcification.
Provenance: Freddy Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by 1986. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for 40 years.
Freddy Hansen was a Danish dealer of Asian art and antiquities, particularly Buddhist sculpture. Based in Copenhagen, he was active from the 1950s onward and became one of Denmark's most prominent dealers in Asian art before his retirement in the early 1990s.
Jorgen Ruben is a Danish art dealer and collector who has been active for over four decades and is highly regarded in the fields of Asian art and classical antiquities. Raised in an art-conscious family, Ruben was exposed early to both modern painting and European decorative arts. He began working in the art trade in the mid-1970s, first with Persian rugs and later with antiques, while travels to Iran and a visit to Persepolis sparked his lasting interest in antiquity. After studies in Copenhagen and London, he worked in England with a dealer in early furniture, before travelling widely in Latin America and Asia, deepening his knowledge of regional art and culture. In 1984 Ruben opened a gallery in Copenhagen dealing in Asian antiquities. He was later active in London and, in the early 2000s, operated the Brussels gallery Classic Art. Much of his career, however, has been conducted privately from home, selling by appointment to collectors, galleries, and museums. Ruben has always bought selectively, choosing only works that deeply engaged him, and often keeping them for many years until placing them with a collector he felt truly understood them.
Important Note: For essential information on the
Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger
Condition: shows repaired breakages and associated small losses, few tiny chips to exposed areas, and signs of weathering.
Weight: 10 g (the jade), 177 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 6.5 cm, size 7.6 x 10.8 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated modern stand. (2)
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade pendant in the form of a dragon, dated 500-400 BC, 10.2 cm long, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number FE.27-1973. Compare a related pale celadon jade dragon pendant, dated to the Warring States period, 7 cm long, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S1987.851.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 27 June 2025, lot 158
Price: EUR 4,160 or approx.
EUR 4,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic yellow & russet jade dragon pendant, Eastern Zhou dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the similar subject and pose. Note the size (8 cm) and color of the jade.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
