Jade Belt Plaques with Double-layer Openwork Dragons and Clouds

Unearthed in Yinhu village, Yangmiao town, Hanjiang county of Yangzhou city in 1968, this set of jade belt plaques with crystal, lustrous high-quality jade and meticulous-done multi-layer openwork carving are of the top grade in this category of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 AD). This set of 17 pieces, in shapes of rectangles, peaches, fishtails, etc., are all decorated with double-layer openwork carvings, with 15 featuring main patterns of dragons and clouds, among which scatter phoenix and cloud-shaped botanic motifs, while the other two showing phoenix patterns. The dragons on these pieces have long, slim figures and ball-shaped claws, with ruyi-shaped clouds above the dragon heads, which are distinctive features of dragons and accompanying patterns around the period of Emperor Jiajing’s reign (1522-1566 AD) of the Ming dynasty.