A DRAGON-SHAPED JADE ORNAMENT
A DRAGON-SHAPED JADE ORNAMENT
Jade
China, Early Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD), 2nd Century BC
This jade is published in Filippo Salviati 4000 YEARS OF CHINESE ARCHAIC JADES Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, no. 279
The dragon head is finely detailed: the mouth, open to show the fangs, is topped by whiskers made with tiny incised lines, the snout is upturned and terminates in a small volute close to the slanting eye, which is marked by a thick line standing for the eyebrow. A comma-shaped motif decorated with thin, parallel lines suggests a tuft of hair. Just beneath the dragon body and encircled by it there is another dragon, carved in openwork and upside down. Its head is turned towards the back and the sinuous body is enriched with extending volutes which, in the portion of the openwork decoration placed in front of the small dragon, seem to assume the shape of a bird in profile.
The jade is mostly of a white, transparent colour, with light brown shades due to the presence of impurities: heavier inclusions are responsible for the black and grey spots near the top border and on the tail.
Dimensions: WIDTH 14.9 CM
Condition: Undamaged
Provenance: Old Austrian private collection