A large Chinese C-shaped jade dragon, Hongshan culture, circa 3000 B.C. Dark green jade with reddish inclusions and traces of calcination. C-shaped dragon figures such as this are typical of the neolithic Hongshan culture. With a flattened chin and slightly raised snout, the eyes strongly tapering to the back, the horn long and bent up like a blade at the end. Just below it, an eyelet in the body of the dragon, conically ground in on both sides. The reddish-green mineral shows clear signs of aging and calcination on the snout and the end of the tail. Intact. Height 23.5 cm. Circumference 62 cm. C-shaped jade dragons are very rare. A similar specimen (circumference 60 cm) is kept in the Jade Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Provenance: From a West German private collection. Acquired 1973 in Singapore from an exiled Chinese archaeologist. Condition: II +