Hair ornament showing a pair of playing dragons holding a heart-shaped amber.

Hair ornament showing a pair of playing dragons holding a heart-shaped amber. It was unearthed from the tomb of Lady Chen, wife of Tong Bonian, who was buried between 1647 and 1658 just outside the Zhonghua gate in  Nanjing. They were lower rank nobles, as evidenced by the dragons' three claws, as opposed to the four used by the emperor's family and high rank aristocrats, or five, reserved for the emperor.  Amber and ruby; gold with repoussé and filigree designs. Now at Nanjing Municipal Museum.  © Asian Art / Simonetta Gatto