White Jade Gyrfalcon Belt - Detail 2

The Gyrfalcon was a sacred bird to the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. It is native to the region around the East China Sea. This bird catches geese in the spring, so the Liao people call it "春水", which means Spring Hunt. Consequently, jade ornaments depicting the Gyrfalcon hunting geese, are referred to as Spring Hunt Jades (春水玉).

This white-jade "Spring Hunt" belt, is composed of 15 pieces. It is the only complete belt showing the Gyrfalcon hunting geese ever discovered. The object may have originally belonged to a member of the Jin or Yuan Dynasty and then reworked before coming into the possession of Prince Zhuang.