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Well-to-do Chinese in imperial times wore exceptionally well-carved types of headdress ornaments that were made in a variety of sizes. Many of them wore their hair on top of their head and crowned the arrangement with a jade ornament.

But during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), men wore their hair in a plait and such head ornaments were no longer used. Many of the ornaments were later converted into knobs for lids of bronze vessels.

Exhibits in an online display at the British Museum include a powerful, coiled dragon emerging from the top of the complex openwork carving, supported on a curved plain underside, that is pierced by two pairs of holes.

The body of the creature is embellished with deeply incised lines; a pearl is clasped in its claws. Its uplifted head crowns a complex composition in which the dragon body is entwined by cloud tendrils.

Venue: The British Museum

Website: www.britishmuseum.org