Jade. China, Eastern Zhou, 4th - 3rd century BC 雙龍紋玉璜 - 東周, 公元前4世紀-前3世紀 This is an unusual example of a huang 璜, a typical Eastern Zhou ornament shaped as two dragons that share the same arched body (see the following two lots, nos.31 and 32). Normally, two dragon heads form the extremities, but here two tiny additional dragons have also been carved, so that the crests and bottom curves of their s-shaped bodies attach to the snouts and tufts of the main dragons’ heads. The central, arched portion of the huang is filled with a pattern of linked, regularly spaced scrolls within a plain border that follows the contour of the object. The dragons’ heads have a slightly rounded surface, and the facial features are defined by a cut-out area for the mouths, with carved lines that indicate the shape of the teeth, fangs, eyes and tufts of hair: these, decorated with finely incised, slightly twisted parallel lines, separate the heads from the body. The smaller dragons on the sides are plain and unadorned except for a few carved lines that describe the facial features. The ornament lacks the suspension hole that is usually drilled at the top centre of the jade, thus it was probably hung through the cutouts in the dragons carved at the extremities. The semi-translucent light green jade has many alterations that have turned it mostly opaque, with the exception of the large dragons’ heads and the central part of the huang. As stated above, this huang stands out in its category by virtue of the two additional dragons carved at the extremities: the closest comparable example is a fragmented arched ornamental jade with a small dragon carved in openwork on one side and a pattern of raised curls in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (object number 2005.8.1, bequest of Jeanne A. Harris). Provenance: From an old Austrian collection LENGTH 14 CM - WIDTH 2 CM 長14 厘米 -寬 2 厘米 Expertise: Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and dated by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.