China, 5th-3rd century BC. Of flattened form, carved in openwork with two single-horned dragons, their pierced scrolling limbs enclosing an ovoid panel carved with a pointed end, with a large central aperture, and incised with scrolls. The semi-translucent stone is of a gray tone with cloudy white inclusions, dark specks, and cream-colored surface alterations.

Provenance: From the Sam and Myrna Myers Collection. Sam and Myrna are first generation Americans, who shared a taste for collecting beautiful objects of art. On a trip to Ascona, Switzerland, the couple stumbled into a small antique shop which started their journey of collecting antiques. When Sam Myers was sent to Paris by his law firm in the mid-1960s, he and his wife Myrna became so enamored with the city that they decided to make it their home. There, over the course of 50 years, they built an extraordinary art collection, and in 1976, Myrna opened a gallery in Paris specializing in Asian art. Their collection spans a wide range of precious objects from Chinese jades, ceramics, textiles, Indian ivory carvings, to Japanese clothing and lacquer, some of which was exhibited in the Kimbell Art Museum. Part of their collection was sold at Sotheby’s, London ‘Two Americans in Paris, The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers’, on 4 November 2021. The couple also worked together with jade expert Filippo Salviati to create one of the most outstanding jade collections globally and authored several books on jade, including ‘Radiant Stones’ (2000), ‘The Language of Adornment’ (2002) and ‘Genèse de l’empire céleste’ (2020).
Condition: Very good condition with surface wear, signs of weathering and erosion, remnants of red pigment, and nibbling. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into thin hairline cracks.

Weight: 75.3 g
Dimensions: Length 11.8 cm

With constant warfare as a central part of life during the Zhou dynasty, weaponry made of jade or with jade parts proliferated. Plaques such as these, with a shield-shape formed by a pointed ended oval body, derive from archer's thumb rings. Originally made from leather, these rings prevented the thumb from harm when the bow string is pulled. Archer's rings date as early as the Shang dynasty as manifested by archaeological evidence from Anyang. From the Warring States period however, the ring gradually lost its utilitarian function as a practical object for archery, becoming flat and purely ornamental.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 24
Price: HKD 1,360,000 or approx. EUR 187,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large calcified pale green jade 'dragon' plaque, Warring States period
Expert remark: Compare the inner panel with pointed end, the sinuous dragons, and size (12.6 cm).