A pair of calcified greyish-celadon jade 'dragon' pendants, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period | 東周戰國 深青灰玉龍形佩一對

Jenny F. So, Chinese Jades from the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, Hong Kong, 2015, cat. no. 17a.

蘇芳淑，《玉澤恆輝：喜聞過齋藏玉》，香港中文大學文物館，香港，2015年，編號17a

Matching pendants of this quality are rare and would have been used by the ruling elite only. Dragon-shaped pendants of this type with 'S'-shaped bodies and scrolling limbs were included in the range of jade pendants sets from tombs dating from the 6th to 5th centuries BCE, becoming a key component in jade pendant sets from the 5th to 3rd centuries BCE, before suddenly vanishing during the Han dynasty, see Chu Xin, ‘Zhanguo S xing longpei de sikao [Thoughts on Warring States 'S'-shaped dragon jade ornaments]’, Zhongguo lishi wenwu / Journal of National Museum of China, Beijing, 2012, issue 6, pp. 87-99.

See a number of excavated examples discussed by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1996, p. 261. Although a large number of pendants in this style were produced, the decoration covering the bodies of these dragons varied greatly, ranging from incised cloud scrolls, rush-mat or hexagonal patterns in relief, and raised spiralling or grain-type bosses.

The holes drilled at the top centre enabled the pendant to be hung in perfect balance at the bottom of an assembled set of other components including beads, huang and bi disc carvings. For a discussion of the pendant assemblage, see Jenny F. So, op.cit., pp. 110-111.

Compare a pair of 'dragon' pendants from the Sir Joseph Hotung collection, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, op.cit., p. 267, no. 17:9; and another pair excavated from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, illustrated in Gu Fang, The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p. 188. A slender 'dragon' jade plaque with similar thickly incised cloud-scrolls, early Warring States period, in the Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth – Chinese Jades Through the Ages, Taipei, 2012, pl. 5-6-13.

S龍形佩為裝飾禮玉，通常雕龍體兩端一首一尾，龍足作爪形或羽狀，有的龍體無爪。玉龍除素面外常見紋飾包括渦紋、穀紋、卷雲紋、勾連紋等。此對龍形佩器形較大，如此器形偏大且工藝複雜的龍形佩通常由王侯將相級別人士所製，在春秋晚期戰國早期的高等級墓葬中曾多有出土，相關討論見羅森，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1996年，頁261。有關此類佩飾頂部之圓孔以及其佩戴方式的討論，見蘇芳淑，前述出處，頁110-111。

參看何鴻卿爵士舊藏一對穀紋龍形玉佩，見羅森，前述出處，編號17:9。湖北省隨州市曾侯乙墓出土的戰國早期龍形玉佩一對亦可做比較，見古方，《中國古玉器圖典》，北京，2007年，頁188。台北故宮博物院藏一件戰國早期玉龍，其紋飾可作比較，另見一對戰國中期龍形玉佩，著錄於《敬天格物：中國歷代玉器》，台北，2012年，頁98-99，圖版5-6-13及5-6-15。