Lot 357. A celadon and brown jade 'dragon head' ring ornament, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, 4.6 cm, 1 3/4  in. Estimate 10,000 — 20,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

of circular form, carved to one side with an abstract dragon head detailed with bulging eyes, the stone of a variegated greenish-celadon and brown colour

Note: This celadon jade piece is modelled in the shape of a round ring of varying thickness, and on the outer side are carved in low relief a dragon head, and the dragon’s ears, and mouth faintly project slightly from the surface, conforming with the ring to create the shape of a dragon that holds its tail in its own mouth. This type of dragon head figure emerges during the early stage of the Neolithic Liangzhu Culture, and is mostly featured on the outer rim of jade rings and bracelets. Compare similar rings unearthed from the Liangzhu Culture archaeological site at Yuhang, Zhejiang, illustrated in Gu Fang, Zhongguo chutu yuqi quanji [The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China], vol. 8, Beijing, 2005, p. 62. Compare also two similar 'dragon head' rings in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth: Chinese Jades through the Ages, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2011, p. 55, pls 4-5-6 and 4-5-7.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 01 juin 2017, 02:00 PM