A pale celadon jade 'dragon' belt hook, Eastern Zhou dynasty, late Warring States period | 東周戰國晚期　龍紋雙身玉帶鉤

Belt hooks emerged during the Spring and Autumn period and became a prominent dress accessory for the elite during the Warring States period. Crafted from precious materials such as jade, gold, and silver, they were not merely functional items for fastening garments but also potent symbols of the wearer's high social status and wealth.

The present belt hook is distinguished by its elegant, arched profile terminating in a well-defined, stylised dragon head. The shaft is uniquely carved with a 'double-body' design, divided by a central longitudinal groove, and is finely incised with linear and scroll motifs. The reverse is fitted with a circular button for attachment. The meticulous carving and the dynamic tension of the curved form exemplify the sophisticated jade craftsmanship of the late Warring States period.

Compare a belt hook of similar form, also with dragon heads at both terminals, in the Qing Court Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (I), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 164. See also a similar late Warring States period belt hook, excavated in 1997 from the tomb of the King of Chu at Shizishan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, now in the Xuzhou Museum, illustrated in Nanjing Museum, ed., Yurun zhonghua: zhongguo yuqi de Wannian shishi tujuan [An Epic of Chinese Jade for 10000 Years], Nanjing, 2023, p. 202.

帶鉤為古人束帶之實用配件，始見於春秋，盛行於戰國。以玉石、金銀等珍貴材質製成之帶鉤，不僅具實用功能，更是貴族階級彰顯身份地位與財富之重要象徵。

本品青玉質，局部有沁。鉤首圓雕龍首，生動傳神。鉤身呈優美弧線，作獨特之雙身設計，中間以直槽分隔，表面陰刻流暢之幾何及卷雲紋飾。背面帶圓形鉤鈕。其雕工精細，器形充滿張力，充分展現了戰國晚期高超的琢玉水平。

北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件相類玉帶鉤可資比較，其兩端皆作龍首，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：玉器（上）》，香港，1995年，圖版164。另見一件戰國晚期雙身龍形玉帶鉤，1997年出土於江蘇省徐州市獅子山楚王墓，現藏徐州博物館，載於南京博物院編，《玉潤中華：中國玉器的萬年史詩圖卷》，南京，2023年，頁202。