Qing Dynasty, China, 1644 to 1912 CE. This is a jade (nephrite) carving that would have been used as a belt hook. The stone is milky white with a dark pink; the carving has two toggles on the back for attaching to a belt and the front is carved in the shape of two animals, probably lions, posed like a parent and child with the young one holding onto the adult's back. Both animals have charming, smiling faces! Size: 2.9" L x 2.1" W x 1" H (7.4 cm x 5.3 cm x 2.5 cm).

Chinese art has incorporated jade since the Neolithic period; quarries for nephrite, the formal name for jade, have been found in modern-day southern Mongolia that date to ca. 4000 BCE. The stone was prized for its hardness, its beautiful coloration (with a milky white being the most desired), and its durability. By the third millennium BCE, we know that jade had also come to be associated with immortality. Jade was used to make everything from everyday household objects and decoration to the ceremonial suits in which Han dynasty emperors were buried – with the belief that jade would preserve the body and the soul for eternity.

Item relisted from 1/28 auction due to canceled sale.

Provenance: Ex-Paul and Louise Bernheimer collection, Cambridge, MA and Laguna Woods, CA., acquired before 1980.

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#111924

Very slight wear, intact.