Collecting Hongshan Jade: A Window on China's Neolithic Past
VIEW EVENT DETAILSAn Evening Presentation by Dr. DAVID ANDERSEN, Collector Only in China was there a neolithic jade age. Some of the earliest known examples of Chinese jade carvings derived from the period when Hongshan culture flourished in northeastern China around 5,000 years ago. Sites dating from about 4700 B.C. to 2900 B.C. have been discovered in an area stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning and Hebei. David Andersen is an avid jade collector, and has devoted the past decade to collecting and studying more than 1,500 Hongshan carvings and to uncover their stories. A medical doctor by training, he bought his first piece of Hongshan nephrite jade in early 2000 and soon became hooked. Since then, he has gained a strong understanding of the iconography and the liberal nature of beliefs of the Hongshan people. Dr. Andersen moved to Asia in 1991, joining The Chinese University of Hong Kong as Professor of Medicine before entering private practice. He retired in 2008 and now lives in Umbria, Italy. Presented by the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch