Sculpture

Rare and intriguing sculpture depicting a Bat with a Skull with an Alien appearance, by Nefriet (often also called 'Nefriet Jade'), made by members of the Chinese Hongshan Culture, which originated in the Neolithic era, about 4,000 years ago. This very enigmatic, characterful figure weighs 880 g (0.8 kg), is 21 cm wide, 5.5 cm high and 17 cm deep. The sculpture does not come with an age report, so the exact age cannot be determined with certainty, while the quality, workmanship, iconography and stylistic features do point to the Hongshan culture. The Hongshan culture, in which this sculpture was created, remains shrouded in many mysteries because research into this culture is still in its early stages. Scientists think the decline of this advanced culture was due to a large natural disaster of apocalyptic proportions, such as a Biblical flood, to which the legendary vanished continent Atlantis is believed to have fallen as well. Some conspiracy theorists even believe that this vanished civilization maintained contact with extraterrestrials, due to the sometimes very bizarre sculptures that often look extraordinarily unusual, and in some cases appear to completely correspond to the image people typically have of aliens... Because the very remote archaeological Hongshan site in northeast China was discovered and studied relatively late by Japanese researchers, these finds were long neglected by the Chinese scientific elite who had always assumed that the cradle of Chinese civilization lay elsewhere. In recent years, however, people are inclined to revise this view and reluctantly admit that the cradle of Chinese civilization indeed lies in Hongshan (which means 'red mountain' in Chinese, named after the excavation site). The current rulers in China have therefore announced that the focus of scientific research into the earliest origins of Chinese civilization will increasingly shift to the aforementioned area. Alongside this announcement, a series of books and TV documentaries are planned for the coming years to bring the Hongshan culture more to the attention of the world audience. For now, only a few publications are available that provide more information. An important reference book for this type of Hongshan sculpture is the catalog published by the prestigious Aurora Museum in Shanghai (China), which also has a branch in Taipei (Taiwan). View the last photo showing the book’s cover image, of which the sculpture is an example of the typical alien-like iconography. (note: this book is not part of this lot and the photo is for reference only!) If you fail to obtain a copy of this very rare book, I recommend consulting the English Wikipedia page dedicated to the 'Hongshan Culture' (also available in many other languages). There is no certainty about the precise age of this delicate sculpture, only that it possesses all the stylistic characteristics of this ancient, lost civilization. The rare object will be shipped immediately to the buyer with a Track & Trace service, very well packaged to prevent damage in transit.

Estimate:£0.84

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