This was the first jade that entered the collection. It was found in 1966 in a small antiques shop in the Netherlands together with a jade brush pot of lesser quality which we disposed shortly after. This particular belt hook is made of greenish grey Hetian jade. For a long time we were not certain about its age as we hadn't seen this type of belt hook before. But recently we saw a very similar belt hook sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong in 2015 which was dated to the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). This confirmed our original beliefs that it may date back to that particular time in Chinese history. Another piece of the puzzle is the choice of material. Dark green jade such as this, was commonly used during the Ming period for belt hooks. The head of the dragon has a nice dark brown 'skin'. Length 10.7 cm. Width 5.0 cm. Depth 2.9 cm. Weight 148.3 grams.