Dragon ornament

A three-dimensional ornament has been worked from a grayish-green hetian jade with no polish. The interior was hollowed through a circular opening in the center of the base, and, after the sculpting was finished, the original opening was sealed. Cylindrical, with a domed top, the piece portrays a traditional theme: a dragon in the ocean. The creature's head appears in a front view, with fully extended hair, while its body twists from its left side, around the rear of the piece, and then to the right, where its tail is coiled. Whirling among clouds, the dragon is flying over rocks and waves below.

Production of three-dimensional jade ornaments for display increased in the Song period when literary art flourished. Openwork was used on jade for pictorial scenes, following the techniques used on wood, bamboo, and ivory. One archaeological find from Xi'an that was attributed to the Song period portrayed a mountain landscape in a three-dimensional oval jade sculpture with openwork (Zgyqqj 1993, vol. 5, plate 128). Several other mountain sculptures with openwork scenes were attributed to Song times (Zgyqqj 1993, vol. 5, plates 130, 154). A Yuan piece with dragon and phoenix illustrate the technique of crafting openwork from the outer surface and retaining the core of the piece (Zgyqqj 1993, vol. 1, plate 167). High-relief ornaments with hollow interiors like this piece emerged in the Ming and continued in the Qing period.