Belt buckle

A belt set has been carved from the beak and casque of a hornbill, an arboreal bird of Africa and southeastern Asia. The orange-red top is attached to a honey-colored lower layer. The hook ends in a dragon's head with a flat, wide mouth. The two tops are carved with dragonets in symmetrical openwork, each showing a round head with a fungus in its mouth and a coiled body with two paws stretching out. The bases are each concave with a round stud in the center.

The materials used for this piece were not known in China before the Qing period. All imported exotic goods, including horns from birds, provided new resources for crafts. The design of this set follows the model of Han period belt sets; the colors are inspired by a long tradition of ornaments mounted with coral and gold or jade. The creative aspect of the piece is its adaptation to the limitations of a thin, flat material; the traditional relief on belt sets is rendered here in simple openwork. The delicate hair on the dragonet head catches the eye among the straight grooves and bevel cutting.