Jade. China, Late Western Zhou, 10th - 9th century BC 龍紋玉璧 - 西周晚期, 公元前10世紀–前9世紀 This lovely small disc in white jade with strongly altered areas is covered on both sides with a delicate pattern in low relief consisting of a pair of dragons in profile carved within two parallel, spiraling bands. The elongated bodies of the dragons, terminating in a pointed tail, radiate from the central perforation. The heads are detailed with round eyes, a curling snout and a small pointed tip over the head and jaws: clawed paws are carved just below the body. With the exception of the eyes, that are simply incised, the entire decoration is in thread relief: the pattern is not easily discernable at a first glance, due to the fact that the alterations mask a great deal of the details. In fact, the white jade has turned almost completely amber, except for an area on one side and two smaller areas on the other where it has retained its original colour and translucency. The rest of the disc is covered with zones of diffused light and dark brown with many speckles and patches of black. The disc is heavily calcified, about one-half on one side and somewhat less on the other, which has rendered these surfaces dull, opaque and rough to the touch. A similar, smaller disc decorated with a coiled dragon in thread relief is in A. Salmony, Carved Jade of Ancient China, 1982 (reprint), pl.14, no.1. Compare also a second disc carved with the same design and reproduced in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, no.179. Provenance: From an old Austrian collection DIAMETER 10.3 CM - HOLE 3.8 CM 直径 10.3 厘米 - 孔徑 3.8 厘米 Expertise: Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and dated by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.