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Decorative Designs in Chinese Art 中国文物的纹饰

Jade 玉 Early Period 早期

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Early Period 早期

Many early jade artifacts were discovered from the Hongshan Culture 红山文化 that existed in Northeast China from about 4,700 to 2900 BCE. Later on the Liangzhu Culture (c. 3400-2250 BCE) in the Yantze Delta also produced many jade artifacts. The types of artifacts were mostly small and decorative, such as pendants, bracelets, and hair pins, as appropriate to the use of jade as a medium for art.

Dragon
红山文化公元前4000〜3000上海博物馆 内蒙古敖汉旗牛古吐乡五家西出土 Dragon Hongshan Culture (4,000—3,000), Shanghai Museum Excavated from Dawujiacun, Niugutu Village, Aohanqi, Inner Mongolia

The jade dragon pendant above was excavated from a Hongshan Culture site in Inner Mongolia.

cong
神像飞鸟 良渚文化公元前3200〜2200上海博物馆 Cong with diety and flying bird design Liangzhu Culture (3,200—2,200), Shanghai Museum

There were a number of jade ceremonial artifacts created during the period 6,000 to 2,000 BCE, including the cong and bi (a jade disc) that there is no modern equivalent of. The cong above and below are from the Liangzhu Culture 良渚文化 (3,200—2,200).

cong
良渚文化公元前3200〜2200上海博物馆 上海市金山区墓葬出土 Cong with diety face design Liangzhu Culture (3,200—2,200), Shanghai Museum Excavated from a tomb in Tinglin, Jinshan District, Shanghai

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