Chinese Jade Buckle

A scalloped gray slab bears an incised pattern and a squat stem below.

This jade buckle is from China. Jade belt hooks and buckles have a long history in China, where they were worn as fasteners and as marks of status from early times. A flat, rounded-lobed pad in dusty pale gray, with an incised design of crossing bars and swirling lines across the top. Several small holes pierce it, and a short thick stub projects from the underside. It is 2.1 inches long, 1 deep and 2.25 high.

Rough at the edges and very certain about its design.