Belt and robe hooks (called "Dai Gou" in Chinese) were widely used in ancient China, especially during the Warring States period (475BC--221BC) when warlords fought each other for power and land.  However, its use declined sharply after the Han Dynasty (206 BC—220 AD) due to change in dress code.  In later years, these hooks were deemed to be inappropriate.  Belt and robe hooks were lute shaped, with one end having a bigger rounded head and the other turned up to form a hook.  The little knob on the back side of the hook would be fastened to the garment like a modern button would be slipped into a button hole.  The fancy Dragon hook would then be neatly fastened to the other end of the belt, robe, or garment to hold it closed.  This is an especially small garment hook, and I would suggest that it would have been worn by a child of wealthy parents.  The very small dimensions of this garment hook make it quite Rare and highly collectable!

Museums and modern archeological studies usually use the general term “copper alloy” instead of just the term “bronze” to describe these ancient treasures, as many other elements (such as tin, lead, zinc, iron, and even arsenic) were added to the copper to form different strengths of types of bronze items.  Ancient bronze artifacts such as this belt hook are probably about 80% copper and 20% tin, while modern bronze is closer to 88% copper and 12% tin.

This belt hook has a beautiful, old patina with some signs of oxidation of the two main elements (tin and copper) that make up this exquisite ritual belt hook.  One interesting property of bronze is that once it has oxidized superficially, a copper oxide layer is formed on the surface and essentially protects the object from further damaging corrosion.  This protective layer turns in another compound, called copper carbonate for you scientists, that protects most bronze pieces from even corrosive saltwater. 

 

I have carefully examined this item under 10x magnification and it also shows authentic and original signs of weathering and ground that help to further authenticate it as an ancient piece.  It is exceeding rare and museum quality ancient Chinese work of art. 

 It has a wonderful old, patina that is absolutely fabulous: a greenish patina from the malachite in the surrounding soil, some dark red patina from the cupite in the soil, and a bright blue color that is from the azurite in the soil.  This combination of colors forms a fantastic patina that is typical of bronze that has been buried for over 2,000 years.  Close examination with a microscope under natural and black light reveal it to be 100% authentic and cast by hand in a sand mold.