Jade. China, Qing Dynasty (1644- 1912), approx. 19th cent.
The inner ring of this exceptionally fine crafted pendant encloses two very small dragons, done in the form of one-legged archaic kuilong. The stronger outer ring is consistently a dragon head crossing itself and ending above in two dragon heads. These are facing each other without space between. The grommet below the heads is in the form of a she (archer´s thumb protector), similar to our coat-of-arms. Light reddish toning due to old colour, a deep black zone on one edge. HEIGHT 6,4 CM
From an old Austrian-Hungarian collection
This jade was examined by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati, declared to be authentic, furthermore carefully and critically judged according to their time of origin. Salviati teaches Chinese art in the department of Orientalism at the University of “La Sapienza“ in Rome and is one of the most renowned jade experts.