Belt hook with a dragons head

Made of beautiful polished green jadeite, this hook has deep- and bright-green areas on its dragon's head. A spectacular openwork mouth reveals a solid tongue curling up in the center. The prominent eyes, eyebrows, and horns are finished in round relief, in contrast to the refined long-line incised work used for the hair.

The Chinese term for jadeite, feicui, was originally the name of a bird from southwestern Asia mentioned in books of the Han period. The word was said to come from the names of two other birds—the fei with red feathers and the cui with green. Tang period documents note that it was a bird with both red and green feathers. Later authors borrowed the term to allude to beautiful colors on ornaments and jewelry.

Around 1900, some scholars claimed that objects found in Zhou and Han sites were made of jadeite. Others said that China had not imported jadeite from Burma until the eighteenth century. Still others argued that Yun'nan and Henan provinces were sources of jadeite in China. A recent systematic study of gemstones by geologist Luan Bing'ao (1989, 97–106) concluded that jadeite was not native to China and entered China from Burma through Yun'nan during the Qing period. He noted that the jewelry market was filled with manufactured "jadeite" and true jadeite with artificial colors.

One example of such artificial coloration is seen on this hook; the bright greens on the head are the result of dyes.