Published: Filippo Salviati, Radiant Stones: Archaic Chinese Jades, Myrna Myers, Paris, 2000, no. 142.

China, ca. 2^nd century BC. The curved shaft is carved in relief with a chilong emerging from a cloud-like surface and flanked by a bear to its left, one side decorated with a dragon in openwork, and the hook terminating in a dragon head. The incised reverse with a circular protrusion incised with scrolls enclosing a hatched diamond. The stone is of a deep green color with beige and cream 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 minor wear, few minuscule losses to exposed areas, little nibbling, signs of weathering and erosion, and soil encrustations. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into thin hairline cracks.

Weight: 123.6 g
Dimensions: Length 12.6 cm

The same theme occurs on a scabbard slide from the tomb of the King of Nanyue (Guangzhou, Guangdong province), while a sword chape from the same tomb is decorated with a bear biting the tail of a dragon.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related jade ‘dragon’ belt hook, dated mid to late Western Han dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, image number K1C009636N000000000PAB.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 2741
Price: HKD 525,000 or approx. EUR 70,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A jade 'dragon' belt hook, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)
Expert remark: Compare the related form, carved details, surface alterations, and color of the jade. Note the slightly larger size (14 cm).