Fish pendant

A half of semi-translucent ivory-yellow jade with alternated beige areas and some flaws, this fish huang pendant is distinctive for the two series of fish fins horizontally protruding above the surface. The eyes, back fins, and the tail are depicted by long or short parallel lines in intaglio. A few concentric lines are visible along the fish body. Two holes, one in the mouth and the other in the tail, are drilled from two sides.

The fish was one of the early motifs on jade. The example of neolithic jade fish found in the Liangzhu culture with two holes along the belly ridge indicates its use as a hanging or stringing ornament, but the form was very realistic, like a live fish. 1 This trend continued and remained the form in small scale until the Bronze Age. Shang jade fish still maintained the realistic form, but on the other hand, to economize on jade, the jade workers divided a disc into sections, and this led to the production of more fish pendants in thin, flat formations on a half, third, or smaller portion of a circle. Jade fish with two series of horizontally protruding fins on the belly was one of several styles among the late Shang fish found in the Fuhao tomb. 2 The common features of such fish are seen in the two or three holes on two ends and several concentric lines on the surface.

1. Zhongguo yuqi quanji (Collections of Chinese Jade), Hebei meishu chubanshe 1993 vol. I: 197.
2. Yinxu Fuhao mu (Fuhao Tomb at Yinxu), Wenwu chubanshe 1980: 192, pl. 101-103.