A WHITE JADE ASTRAGAL

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A WHITE JADE ASTRAGAL
LIAO/JIN DYNASTY OR LATER

The even white stone carved as a knuckle-bone pierced at one end for suspension as a pendant--1½in. (3.7cm.) long

Lot Essay

Cf. a very similar carving illustrated by James Watt, op. cit., no. 161 where he explains that these bones were used from the Liao period onwards as dice for gambling and for children's games in Northern China as well as in Mediterranean countries. He also lists a number of excavated examples

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