pendant BM-2022-3034.87

Period:Shang dynasty Production date:15thC BC-10thC BC
Materials:jade
Technique:carved, polished, bevelled,
Subjects:dragon
Dimensions:Length: 6.90 centimetres

Description:
Dragon pendant of very translucent yellow jade with speckles, inclusions and calcification polished to a fine gloss.
IMG


Comments:A crouching dragon in profile with a small blade behind its tail is cut from what was originally a collared ring. The ridge of the ring forms the inner edge and from it rise the paws and jaw of the creature. It has a long narrow snout with the suggestion of an open jaw. Behind the brow is a slanting eye in thin ridges of relief and a long bottle horn, also embellished with relief lines. Lines indicating claws are carved on the inside of the ring. The back and tail are rendered in a more summary fashion. The blade has been carved by paring down the flange of the collared ring and its end is neatly bevelled. A small hole pierces the lower jaw of the dragon and two further holes are located at the end of the blade and on the edge of the collar. The surface is very smooth and well polished. Small tools with a narrow blade embellished with animals are one of the main categories of Shang jades. See Rawson 1995, p.216, cat.no.12.11. This segment of a collared disc has been reworked into a bottlehorn dragon with convolute tail. The extended inner lip shows small grooves representing clawed feet. The extension beyond the tail has been bevelled to a point with two small perforations and another perforation has been drilled through the lower jaw of the dragon. Shang. Length 70mm.