1-233-996 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Jade chatelaine with cockatoos, Liao or Northern Song dynasty, China, 10th-11th century. This unusual form of jade would have been the centre piece of a necklace from which several strands of beads would have been suspended. The bottom half of the front has seven pierced tubes in high relief. The outer surface of the tubes is decorated with formal C scrolls. The upper half is worked with two parrot-like birds in low relief, the short wings of which are outstretched.