A pale celadon jade 'dragon' pendant, Eastern Zhou dynasty, middle Warring States period | 東周戰國中期　龍形玉珮

Elegantly carved in an arched, C-shaped silhouette, it terminates in a stylised dragon head with a subtly upturned snout, while the other end tapers into a neatly curled tail. The body is meticulously decorated on both sides with a dense array of raised whorl patterns or wowen motif, enclosed within narrow raised borders. A small circular aperture is drilled near the lower edge to allow for suspension. Pendants of this refined form and intricate surface decoration were highly prized during the Warring States period and would have originally formed part of an elaborate, multi-tiered pectoral ornament Yuzupei worn by the elite.

For a comparable example, see an S-shaped jade 'dragon' pendant from a middle Warring States period jade pectoral set, which features a similarly designed dragon head and whorl pattern. Excavated in 1978 from a tomb Lu State site in Qufu county, Shandong province, and now in the collection of the Qufu City Cultural Relics Management Committee, illustrated in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese jades], vol. 1, Hebei, 2005, pl. 207.

本品青白玉質，局部帶有褐色沁斑。玉珮呈優美的C字弧形，一端雕作龍首，吻部微向上突，另一端向內捲曲作尾。器身兩面皆滿飾細密的凸雕渦紋，邊緣起棱。器身下方邊緣鑽有一小孔，以便穿繫懸掛。此類造型優美、紋飾繁複的龍形玉珮在戰國時期頗為盛行，通常作為當時高等級貴族身上所佩戴的繁複組玉佩之重要構件。

參考一相近作例，為1978年山東省曲阜縣魯國故城墓出土的戰國中期組玉佩中一S龍形玉佩，其龍首造型及表面裝飾的渦紋與本品極為相似，現藏山東省曲阜市文物管理委員會，著錄於楊伯達編，《中國玉器全集（上）》，河北，2005年，圖216。