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

 

In ancient China, this extra-large, jade spear tip would have been made for a wealthy, upper-class general over 5,000-years-ago.  As the size and number of jade items related to the social ranking of the person, this massive 8.55” (217mm) tall jade spear must have been made for a person of the highest social class, likely a general or royal personage.  This is one of the larger spear tips from this Neolithic period ever offered for sale! 

 

 

Here are the approximate measures of this Extremely RARE jade treasure:

 

·       Item:  Neolithic Chinese Translucent Jade 8.55” Spear Tip with Petroglyphs/Characters

·       Material:  Translucent Celadon Green, Nephrite Jade

·       Height:  8.55” (217mm)

·       Width:   3.25” (82mm)

·       Thickness:  .38” (9.6mm)

·       Mounting Hole Diameter:  .42” (11mm)

·       Weight:  9.0 oz. (254 gr.)

 

 

Condition:  This translucent, ritual, jade spear tip is in museum-quality condition, with no chips, repairs, or restorations.  The thin, celadon-green surface of the jade is about 50% coated with white mineral deposits (likely calcium) and small amounts of red iron from the soil in which it was buried. 

 

 

When this jade spear was professionally cleaned in China to remove some of the excessive earthen and calcium deposits, it exposed some of the ancient characters that were painted onto the jade spear.  The paint has fallen off the jade, but the image remains from where it was painted, because there is no white mineral deposits where the painted figures once were.  Therefore, the ghost image of the once painted characters have no mineral deposits on them. 

 

 

The ancient characters are shown on both sides of the spear.  These pictographic symbols were only meant for the eyes of the Ancestors, as human eyes were not worthy to read them.  {See below for translation}

 

 

Note:  This rare and fragile jade spear tip is for Display Only and should not be used as a modern spear tip as although jade is very hard, it does easily break. Thank You…

 

NOTE:  These items offered for sale by Ancient Civilizations are unconditionally guaranteed authentic. They were legally imported to the United States and are legal to sell and own under U.S. Statute Title 19, Chapter 14, Code 2611, Convention on Cultural Property.

 

 

Details

I’ve tried to capture the beauty of this extraordinary jade spear tip with some strong back-lighting so you can see the translucent, celadon green jade.  All surfaces of the spear tip are highly polished—another indicator that this jade offering was made for a person of high-status.

 

 

The mounting hole measures .42” (11mm) in diameter and is classified as a “bi-conical bore hole.”  In ancient China, holes were thought to be portals to Tian (Heaven) and as such, prayers could travel to the immortal ancestors who lived in Tian.  In practical terms, such holes were used to attach the spear tip to a long poll.  But this thin, jade spear tip was made for ritual purposes, and so it may have been attached to a wooden pole, but it was never used in battle—only as an offering to the Ancestors.

 

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF CHARACTERS

 

 

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.  Any translation errors are unintentional and strictly mine.

 

 

 

When this jade spear was professionally cleaned in China to remove some of the excessive earthen and calcium deposits, it exposed where the ancient characters were painted onto the jade spear.  But the paint itself was removed in the cleaning process or fell off after millennia after burial in wet soil.  But the “ghost image” of each character remains from where it was once painted, because there is no white mineral deposits where the painted figures once were.  Therefore, the ghost image of the once painted characters have no mineral deposits on them. 

 

 

 

The ancient characters are not in columns or rows, but rather are shown on all sides of the large, jade spear tip.  Some of the characters are large (2.5” (63mm) long, while others are exceedingly small—some just 2-4mm tall!  The pictographic symbols were only meant for the eyes of the Ancestors, as human eyes were not worthy to read them. 

 

 

Here is my best expanded, English translation of some of the estimated 15 characters/graphics on this translucent jade spear tip:

 

 

·       At the base of the spear tip, there are two persons riding a dragon that is about 2.5” (63mm) long—one figure of a man is facing forward and one facing backward!  The rear figure is that of an Ancestor who is guarding the soul of the man to Heaven (Tian).  {See photo # 7}

 

o  I’ve circled in red on the attached photo, one man who is lying down and is about .87” (22mm) long.  He is next to the dragon’s head and has his hair up in a tight bun.  It is possible this is an image of the soul of the father, who has died, and one soul stays with the body as he lies in his tomb.  The image you see would be the soul of the departed man as it stays in the tomb.  The ancient Chinese believed that a person had two souls and when they died, one soul stayed with the body while the other began  a perilous journey on a dragon’s back to Tian.

o  On the back end of the dragon, but facing forward, the second image of a man is about .68” (17mm) tall and has his hair up in a larger bun.  I believe this is an image of the second soul of the departed  who is riding the Dragon to Tian.  Emperors and warlords were thought to be the Sons of Dragons and under their

 

·       Next to the mounting hole, are the graphic symbols of  Sons of the departed father, who are holding curved flint axes that they have used to sacrifice two animals for the Ancestors.  One appears to be a bird, while the other an animal with four feet right on the edges of the hole.  Both figures are 180 degrees on either side of the hole. These pictographic characters  document the ritual offering of sacrificed birds and beasts to the Ancestors in Tian. (See photo # 8}

·       An Ancestor diving down from Heaven (Tian) to accept the offerings presented by the Sons and Grandsons on behalf of their father/grandfather.

·       In this next photo, one can see images of two Sons standing next to their smaller Grandsons as they both offer gifts of ritual wine and raw meat to the Ancestors.  That tiny image of a Son is only about 2mm tall!  As a reference point, two sheets of paper measure about .2mm thick!!  {See photo # 10.}

·       There are several more graphics of Sons and Grandsons holding flint knives that they have used to sacrifice animals and birds during this ritual to honor their father/grandfather.  Again, the number of animals sacrificed was in proportion to the social ranking of the person.  Some images contain graphics next to them of the animals they have killed, while others just show the men with their knives/axes—this was the common practice back in the Hongshan Dynasty.

·       There are at least 10+ additional graphic characters on both sides of the amulet that document the sacrificial offerings that were made on this day by the Sons and Grandsons.  As such rituals always contained sacrifices of wine, jade, money (in the form of cowrie shells), and bronze items, these items are also shown in pictographs on the jade amulet.

 

 

Here is as a rough, expanded translation of the ancient characters:

 

 

“In the Presence of our Ancestors, We the Sons and Grandsons Offer Our Prayers and Many Animals Sacrifices to Ensure Safe Passage for

Our Father as His Soul Journeys on a Dragon to Eternal Life in Heaven (Tian) to Live Forever with His Many Ancestors.”

 

NOTE:  Congratulations!  You are among the first people in the world in over 5,000 years to read the translation of the pictographic characters on the fabulous jade spear tip!  This piece has never been exhibited, transcribed, or translated before it came into my possession. 

  

 

The Hongshan were temple builders and city builders who created some of the earliest nephrite jade carvings. Their sophisticated Jade carving techniques employed technologies that exceeded simple explanations. It has recently been discovered that the Hongshan possessed the knowledge of metallurgy and employed the use of copper and iron from meteorites as tools to work their jade masterpieces. Many of the Hongshan Jade artifacts are well persevered because the Hongshan culture utilized slab burial tombs and because of the dry arid climate of Inner Mongolia.

 

As many of you know, Nephrite jade, also known as “soft jade” or “ancient Jade” in China, was used from China’s early Neolithic cultures in 8,000 BC to 1800 AD for carving all types of ritual and utilitarian items.  Nephrite, which is somewhat “softer” than the jadeite used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures, was easier to cut, carve, polish, and drill than jadeite.  So, the ancient Chinese found that Nephrite Jade could be worked by using quartz or garnet sand, polished with bamboo or jade dust, and even drilled with bone drills that used a slurry made of jade dust and water as the abrasive.  

 

During China’s Neolithic Period, Hongshan Jade ritual and tomb objects were created for a period of more than 2,000 years. Hongshan jades have been discovered in large quantities with over 52 different types of Jade objects in various shapes and forms.

 

Jade (called the “Stone of Heaven” by the Chinese) is priceless.  Testifying to how much the Chinese are fond of jade is this time-honored proverb: “Gold may have a price, but jade is priceless.” The value of gold can be determined by measuring its weight. Not jade. The value of a piece of jade is “assessed” by taking numerous factors into account. For example, the luster, purity and color, the sound it produces when struck, and when the jade piece was discovered or when and where a jade artifact was produced can affect a piece’s value.





Value

  I have carefully examined this ancient jade artifact and I GUARANTEE it to be original and authentic or your money back! I’ve looked under 10x magnification under both natural and Black Light and I can find no signs of any modern tool work or repairs. The hand tool marks left in the jade by the master stone artist who carved, shaped, and engraved this work of art appear to be consistent with those marks of other ancient jades I have examined.


 

 Please examine the macro photos taken both indoors and outdoors carefully, as they are part of the description.

The stand and ruler are not part of the auction, just included to give you a better perspective of the size.

And please ask any questions before you buy.

 

Note:  Please ask any questions you may have before you bid!  Thanks for Looking!


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