It is very rare to find a flower made of dark green jade. Even professor Cheng Te'Kun mentions in his book about jade flowers that he has never seen one. Well, this is one and it is indeed very rare. During the Ming period (1644 - 1912), dark green Hetian jade was used to make other items as well, for instance belt hooks. This type of flower is not depicted in professor Cheng Te-k’un’s book ‘Jade Flowers and Floral Patterns in Chinese Decorative Art ‘.