Lot 5066. An archaic jade 'dragon' ornament, xi, Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD); 10.4 cm, 4  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000HKD. Sold for 75,000 HKD (8,874 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of flat crescent shape, delicately carved in openwork as a dragon in profile with its head depicted with a circular eye, an open jaw and a curled crest, its body tapering to a backward curving tail, the stone of celadon tone with areas of calcification.

Provenance: An important Asian collection, acquired in the 1980s or earlier.