Jade. China, Han Dynasty, 2nd - 1st century BC 龍仙紋玉佩 -漢代, 公元前2世紀-前1世紀 This fine rectangular ornament in white jade with extensive brownish hues is decorated on both sides with an identical, highly detailed pattern in low relief made of an immortal (xian仙)) accompanied by two winged dragons. The thin, sinuous and intertwining bodies of the dragons are carved along the sides of the pendant, as if they were ascending towards the sky: their confronting heads meet at the top centre of the jade, while their bodies overlap and intertwine just below. The winged immortal is carved in the lower section of each side of the pendant and framed within a sort of triangular shape that separates the xian from the dragons on the sides. A stylized taotie-like mask is carved on the bottom of the pendant, while the two horn-like protrusions that spring from the neck of the dragons define the top corners of the ornament. The entire carving is highly and minutely detailed with tiny, incised lines: the corners are rounded and there is a smoothed central groove running along the entire perimeter. The jade was hung on a cord that passed through the vertical hole that pierces the object throughout. The beautiful white jade is now almost completely covered with areas of amber, light and dark brown, some reddish areas and faint traces of surface alteration that have affected the lower section of one of the sides. There are no exact matching examples published in the current literature for this exquisite jade. However, the closest carving that can be brought for comparison is a girdle pendant in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 16.144.7, dated to the Han dynasty. Of similar rectangular shape and dimensions, it is decorated with a dragon and a phoenix carved on the sides. Interestingly, it has an inscription which dates the object to the Yuanguang period of Emperor Wu’s reign, corresponding to 134-129 BC. Provenance: From an old Austrian collection LENGTH 8.7 CM - WIDTH 4.3 CM 長8.7 厘米 -寬4.3 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.