Sculpture, Hongshan Cultuur Alien achtige Gehoornde Schedel Sculptuur met Sokkel - 18 cm - Antique Nefriet

Rare and intriguing sculpture depicting a horned Skull with an Alien appearance, by Nefriet (often also called 'Nefriet Jade'), created by members of the Chinese Hongshan Culture, which originated in the Neolithic, about 4000 years ago.

This highly mysterious, characterful figure weighs a total of 318 g (0.3 kg) together with the cube-shaped pedestal, is 14.5 cm high, 6 cm wide and 6 cm deep. The sculpture alone weighs 165 g, is 8.5 cm high, 6.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm deep. The sculpture is sold together with the pedestal.

The sculpture is not accompanied by an age report, so its age cannot be determined with certainty, while the quality, execution, iconography and stylistic features do point to the Hongshan culture.

The Hongshan culture, in which this sculpture came into being, remains surrounded by many mysteries because research into this culture is still in its early stages.

Scientists believe that the decline of this advanced culture was due to a large natural disaster of apocalyptic magnitude, such as a Biblical flood, which would also have sunk the legendary vanished continent Atlantis.

Certain conspiracy theorists even believe that this vanished civilization kept in contact with aliens, due to the sometimes very bizarre sculptures that often look unusually alien, and in some cases seem to fully correspond to the image that people generally have of extraterrestrials...

Because the very remote Hongshan archaeological site in northeast China was discovered and studied relatively late by Japanese (!) researchers, these finds were long ignored by the Chinese scientific elite, who had always assumed that the cradle of Chinese civilization lay elsewhere.

In recent years, however, there is a tendency to revise this view and to reluctantly admit that the cradle of Chinese civilization does lie, indeed, in Hongshan (which means 'red hill' in Chinese, named after the site).

The current rulers in China have therefore announced that the focus of scientific research into the earliest origins of Chinese civilization will increasingly move to the aforementioned area.

At the same time as this announcement, a series of books and TV documentaries are planned for the coming years to bring Hongshan culture more into the limelight for 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 leading Aurora Museum in Shanghai (China), which also has a branch in Taipei (Taiwan).

View the last photo showing the cover image of this book, of which the sculpture is an exemplary representation of the typical alien-like iconography. (note: this book is not part of this lot and the photo is for reference only!)

Anyone who does not manage to obtain a copy of this very rare book is advised to consult the English-language 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 bears all the stylistic features of this ancient, lost civilization.

The rare object will be shipped to the buyer immediately with a Track & Trace shipment, very well packed to prevent damage en route.