Pair of yellow jade belt hooks ‘Dragons and taotie’, Warring Kingdoms period

A pair of belt hooks carved from yellow jade with green and reddish-brown veins and areas of oxidation. Each piece has a curved body, ending in a feline head with a stylised frontal expression, prominent eyebrows and pronounced teeth. The main body is ornamented in high relief with a complex composition of sinuous archaic dragons and taotie masks, whose symmetrical features are integrated between spirals and scrolls. The reverse preserves the classic circular hooked button, characteristic of this type of functional prestige ornamentation. Period of the Warring Kingdoms (475-221 BC) or later.

Size: 14.5 x 3.9 x 3.9 cm; 14.6 x 4 x 4 x 4.1 cm

Weight: 216 g; 220 g

Provenance:

· Collection of Tommy Lam, Hong Kong, from 1980