Lo86t 37. A large white and grey jade 'dragon' belthook, Ming dynasty; 13 cm., 5 1/8  in. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 HKD. Lot sold 125,000 HKD (14,369 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's

worked with a dragon head terminal forming the hook, with a patch of light grey on the body of the arched shaft worked in high relief to depict a striding dragon, the underside set with a small loop, the stone of a pale celadon colour with grey inclusions.

Literature: Jiang Tao and Liu Yunhui, eds., Jades from the Hei-Chi Collection, Beijing, 2006, pp. 170-171.

Note: A related belthook was included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 187; and a slightly smaller example carved in lower relief, excavated from the Xilin Pagoda, Songjiang province, is published in Jade Wares of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing Unearthed from Shanghai, Shanghai, 2001, pl. 84.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 07 Oct 2015