Chinese White Jade Sacrificial Huang Pendant & Amulet c. Qing Dynasty!

This headpiece was made in China of pure, Nephrite Jade that was originally a dark green in color.  Normally, jade objects from the 5,000 year-old Liangzhu Culture turn a deep, rich, chestnut brown color from the elements and minerals they absorb from the surrounding soil.  But what makes this particular headpiece especially rare is that it has turned cream-colored white after being subjected to the high heat of a fire.  Experts believe the shamen would burn jade ritual objects during sacrificial prayers so the smoke would spiral up into the Heavens and carry their prayers to their ancestors and to the Heavenly Gods.  I believe this Qing Dynasty jade copy was subjected to high temperatures in order to artifically "age" the jade and turn it white.

If you look carefully at the photos, you will see the tiny stress cracks in the jade from the heat of the fire.  These extreme temperatures caused the once green nephrite jade to turn a cream color.   Few of these sacrificial jade objects survived the heat, as most cracked and split into dozens or hundreds of small pieces. Most of the world’s fine museums have one or two examples of these sacrificial jade objects, but they are extremely rare!

On the front of the headpiece is the famous Tao-Tie, a spirit monster that was thought to drive away evil spirits and protect the wearer from harm.  Two holes were drilled by hand at the top of the crown so that it could be worn as a pendant by the shaman or high priest.  This hole is consistent with those drilled in identified museum pieces.  Each hole has been drilled by hand from both sides of the amulet.