Crabapple Flower-shaped Jade Huan Ring with Double Beast Pattern, Southern Song to Yuan dynasty, 1127-1368-China Archive

Image Number: K1C003325N000000000PAB
Dynasty: Southern Song dynasty
Category: Jades
Function: Clothing and accessories
Material: Minerals/Jade Jewelry/Jade
Description:
The turquoise jade with a large brown jade skin is carved into crabapple flower shaped jade ornaments. The back is plain, with several groups of tunnel holes for sewing on other objects. The high relief on the front shows the dragon and tiger looking at each other, and the dragon’s mouth holds the long tail of the dragon, which is very vivid and interesting. The dragon and tiger patterns basically retain the characteristics of the Southern Song Dynasty, such as small and deep round eyes drilled from the tube, large bunches of hair and hyena patterns at the back of the head, etc., but the overall carving is more three-dimensional. The outline of the face has evolved from a triangle to a trapezoid. The theme of double chi has also developed from two equal to one big and one small. However, there was no popular practice of taking Ganoderma lucidum orally in the Yuan Dynasty. Crabapple shaped rings carved with jade or crystal are common ornaments in the Southern Song Dynasty. This is wider than the typical southern Song Dynasty crabapple style ring, and the dragon tiger carved is more three-dimensional and mature than the dragon tiger on Zheng Jidao’s jade wall in the first year of Jiatai (1201), which may belong to the late Southern Song Dynasty to