Lot 144. A jade 'chilong and clouds' scabbard slide, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 7.7 by 2.2 by 1 cm. Lot sold: 176,400 HKD (Estimate: 60,000 - 80,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

the flat top crisply carved in relief with a chilong with angular facial features, in stark contrast with its sinuous body writhing through swirling clouds, the muscular limbs emitting flame wisps and terminating in sharp claws, the stone of a translucent yellowish celadon tone with areas of calcification.

Provenance: Galaxie Art & Gift Co., Hong Kong, 3rd March 1986.

Literature: Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 21:16.

Exhibited: British Museum, London, on loan, 1995.

Sotheby's. HOTUNG  The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1, Hong Kong, 9 October 2022