Sculpture, Hongshan Cultuur Alien achtige Gehoornde Godheid Sculptuur - 10.5 cm - Antique Nefriet

Rare and intriguing sculpture depicting a horned deity with an extraterrestrial appearance, made from nephrite (often also called 'Nephrite Jade'), by members of the Chinese Hongshan culture, which originated in the Neolithic, about 4000 years ago.

This highly enigmatic, characterful figure weighs 193 g (0.193 kg), is 10.5 cm tall, 8 cm wide and 1.5 cm deep.

The sculpture lacks an age report, so the age cannot be established with certainty, while the quality, workmanship, iconography and stylistic features do point to the Hongshan culture from the Neolithic.

The Hongshan culture in which this sculpture was created remains shrouded in mystery, as research into this culture is still in its early stages.

Scientists believe the decline of this advanced culture was due to a large-scale natural disaster of apocalyptic proportions, such as a biblical flood, which would have also doomed the legendary vanished continent Atlantis.

Some conspiracy theorists even believe that this vanished civilization maintained contact with extraterrestrials, because the sometimes very bizarre sculptures often look extraordinarily unusual and in some cases seem to fully match the common image people have of aliens...

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

In recent years, however, this view has begun to be revised, and people are tentatively admitting that the cradle of Chinese civilization indeed lies in Hongshan (which means 'red mountain' in Chinese, named after the site).

The current rulers in China have thus announced that the focus of scientific research into the earliest origins of Chinese civilization will increasingly shift to the aforementioned region.

Along with this announcement, a series of books and TV documentaries are planned for the coming years to bring more attention to the Hongshan culture for the global audience. For now, only a few publications are available that provide more information.

An important reference book for these kinds of Hongshan sculptures is the catalog issued by the prestigious Aurora Museum in Shanghai (China), which also has a branch in Taipei (Taiwan).

View the last photo showing the cover of this book, of which the sculpture is a typical example of the alien-like iconography. (Note: this book is not part of this lot, and the photo is for reference only!)

If you do not manage 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 bears all the stylistic characteristics of this ancient, lost civilization.

The rare object will be shipped to the buyer immediately with a Track & Trace service, very well packaged to prevent any damage in transit.