WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-8 AD)

Details

A VERY RARE JADE ‘DRAGON’ PENDANT
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-8 AD)
The ornament is carved as two conjoining dragons with their heads curving upwards on either end, and their bodies decorated in relief with comma spirals within raised borders. There is a suspension hole drilled from both sides below the upper edge. The well polished stone is of a pale greyish-white tone with some areas of calcification and russet inclusions.
3 1/2 in. (9 cm.) long, box

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong, 1997

Brought to you by

Sibley Ngai

sngai@christies.com +852 2978 9955

Lot Essay

This fine pendant is carved with two conjoined dragons with their heads turning towards the centre. It is particularly finely detailed and decorated, with well-defined features and a lustrous polish. This type of pendants was popular in the Warring States period. Compare an example from the Yanggongxiang tomb now in the Beijing Palace Museum collection, illustrated in Jadeware (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1995, p. 169, no. 140 (fig. 1).

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