Bracelet-shaped box

Made of greenish hetian jade with whitish flaws and yellowish areas on its unpolished surface, this box consists of a shallow cover and a deep chamber, perhaps used to hold a bead bracelet. Only the top surface of the cover is decorated. In four identical segments, it displays a centered dragon's head, with its sinuous body extending to the sides. At the inner and outer rims are raised circles. This classical design is not seen in ancient jades. The execution—with shallow relief and depressions for the dragon body—is certainly traditional, but this style was not seen in the design on ancient boxes. The surface was penetrated with a chemical treatment to add colors and flaws.

Inspired by the repoussé technique of goldsmiths, Tang artisans made jade boxes to resemble metal ones. A jade box excavated from a Tang tomb in Xi'an mirrors the shape and decoration on gold and silver boxes of that era (Zgyqqj 1993, vol. 5, plate 35). The influence of metalwork persisted until the Song period, as illustrated by an oval box found in a Northern Song tomb in Hebei province. Its phoenix design in shallow relief is modeled on tenth-century metal originals (Zgyqqj 1993, vol. 1, plate 105). Until the Ming period, jade boxes were still made in traditional forms (rectangular, square, or round boxes with covers). A piece with an inscription "produced by Zigang," from the Palace Museum, Beijing (1995, vol. 41, plate 219), is a square with a shallow cover attributed to the famous jade cutter Lu Zigang of the Ming period. Boxes with unusual designs such as this bracelet shape emerged in the Qing period for use on scholars' tables (to hold ink paste or seals) and for display.