Knotted dragon pendant, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE), 3rd century BCE. Jade (nephrite). H. 7.9 cm; W. 5.2 cm. Gift of Ernest Erickson Foundation, 1985, 1985.214.99. © 2000–2024 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This pendant takes the shape of a dragon with a sinuous body grooved to resemble twisted rope. Its elegant curves illustrate the extraordinary talent and skill of early Chinese jade carvers, in whose hands hard, intractable jade seems a supple and malleable material.