Pendant in the form of a dragon with incised uniform curls

• 1. (Louise Fitzgerald Huber, draft entry for the Catalogue of the Singer Collection, 1970 - 1990?)
  
  742
  Dragon Silhouette
  Western Han dynasty, 3d--2d century B.C.
  Jade
  Length 10 cm (3 15/16 in.)
  
  The dragon silhouette is shaped in a perfunctory manner from a flat slab of jade, now white and opaque.  The head is joined by its long muzzle to a forepaw that juts out from the front of the recurving body.  A second short spur on the opposite side rests on a large volute emerging lower down.  The dragon's tail and the crest trailing out from the back of its head give the impression of long, fluttering scarves.  The figure is bordered by a line along the outer edges, and its body is filled by a pattern of incised curls.  The mouth, chest, and a volute at the back are perforated. 
   Dragon silhouettes of this type, which often occur in pairs, have been excavated from sites in the south, including Shou Xian, Anhui Province; Jiangling, Hubei Province; and Changtaiguan near Xinyang, Henan Province.  They may represent a local Chu variant of the more refined northern figures.1  These pieces are generally assigned to the late Eastern Zhou.  Two closely datable examples were unearthed in Pingshan, Hebei, from the tomb of King Zuo of Zhongshan, who died around 308 B.C.2  The Singer piece appears to be later than any of these examples and probably dates from the Western Han.   LFH
  
  Notes
   1.  Chu wenwu zhanlan tulu 1954, pl. 28: 54--55; Wenwu, no. 9 (1959): 24, fig. 22; Wenwu, no. 9 (1964): 29, fig. 5: 5; Fontein & Wu 1973, no. 34; Loehr 1975, no. 553.
   2.  Wenwu, no. 1 (1979): pl. 7: 3; Ch_goku Sengoku jidai no y_ 1981, no. 57.
  

  2. (Najiba Choudhury per Matthew Clarke, December 14, 2021) Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)". Period One changed from "Western Han dynasty" to "Eastern Zhou dynasty"; Period Two added as "Warring States period"; Object Name changed from "Carving" to "Pendant"; Date changed from "3rd-2nd century BCE" to "475-221 BCE"; Title changed from "Dragon" to "Pendant in the form of a dragon with incised uniform curls"; Geography changed from "China" to "China, possibly Hunan province, Changsha, kingdom of Chu"; added Chinese translation.

  3.(Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, August 2, 2022) Medium changed from Jade to Jade (nephrite).
  

Draft catalogue entry (no. 742) for S2012.9.1432 for the catalogue of the Singer Collection (1970--1990); by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber
Dragon Silhouette
Western Han 漢 dynasty, 3rd--2nd century BCE
Jade
Length 10 cm (3 15/16 in)

The dragon silhouette is shaped in a perfunctory manner from a flat slab of jade, now white and opaque. The head is joined by its long muzzle to a forepaw that juts out from the front of the recurving body. A second short spur on the opposite side rests on a large volute emerging lower down. The dragon's tail and the crest trailing out from the back of its head give the impression of long, fluttering scarves. The figure is bordered by a line along the outer edges, and its body is filled by a pattern of incised curls. The mouth, chest, and a volute at the back are perforated. 

Dragon silhouettes of this type, which often occur in pairs, have been excavated from sites in the south,  including Shou xian 壽縣, Anhui 安徽 province; Jiangling 江陵, Hubei 湖北 province; and Changtaiguan 長台關 near Xinyang 信陽, Henan 河南  province. They may represent a local Chu 楚 variant of the more refined northern figures. [1] These pieces are  generally assigned to the late Eastern Zhou 周. Two closely datable examples were unearthed in Pingshan 平山, Hebei 河北, from the tomb of King Cuo 厝 of Zhongshan 中山, who died around 308 BCE. [2] The Singer piece appears to be later than  any of these examples and probably dates from the Western Han 漢.

[1] Chu wenwu zhanlan tulu 1954, pl. 28:54--55; Wenwu, no. 9 (1959): 24, fig. 22; Wenwu, no. 9 (1964): 29, fig. 5:5; Fontein and Wu 1973, no. 34; Max Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1975), no. 553.

[2] Wenwu, no. 1 (1979): pl. 7:3; Ch_goku Sengoku jidai no y_ 1981, no. 57.