Catalogue entry no. 425 by Max Loehr:
425 Bird and Dragon Configuration
Highly polished, pale greenish and dark brown translucent jade. The dragon figure moves in a more abrupt and unpredictable rhythm that do the comparable types listed before (Nos. 420, 421, 423, 424). The tail in particular, which terminates in a small, inconspicuous bird head, lacks the harmonious quality of the designs observed thus far. Appendages are few: a straight foot and claw above the steeply arched body, and a pointed hook beneath it. Accordingly, the outlines are tidy and of greater poignancy than in the more patterned designs. The surfaces are covered with plastic curls, arranged in a regular grid on the left side but arranged rather irregularly on the right side. Striations along the muzzle; cross-hatching at the lower jaw on the right side only, and again in the ears of the bird head. Two perforations at the top center. On the polished edge below the dragon’s neck there are four incised characters: chung pa-shih-erh, “middle, eighty-two.” Late Eastern Chou.
