Jade. China, Eastern Zhou, 4th - 3rd century BC 龍紋玉璜 - 東周, 公元前4世紀-前3世紀 The lovely flowing shape of this huang 璜 is determined by the sinuous curves of the dragons’ heads that turn back abruptly at the extremities: their bodies form the gentle curve of the central arch that is decorated with small curls in relief. The paws of the dragons are carved on the underside of the ornament on both side of a central, elegantly carved pointed tip. The contour of the huang is designed by a fine plain border and the features of the dragon are expressed through simple incised lines. The jade is thoroughly calcified and chalky white in appearance with only tiny sparse patches of diffused russet and black. A huang of similar form is in the Freer/Sackler Galleries of Art, Washington, D.C. (11.3 cm, accession number F1932.39), published in A. Salmony, Carved Jade of Ancient China, 1982 (reprint), pl.60, no.2. Compare also a pendant in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhou Nanquan, Gugong bowuyuan zang wenwu zhenpin quanji - Yuqi (shang) 故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集 玉器上 (The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware I), Hong Kong 1995, no.158. A further pendant of similar shape is in the Harvard Art Museums’ collection (accession number 1943.50.470) and published in M. Loehr and L.G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge 1975, no.490. Provenance: From an old Austrian collection LENGTH 10.4 CM - WIDTH 3.2 CM 長10.4 厘米 -寬3.2 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.