A CHINESE JADEITE BELTHOOK AND PLAQUE MOUNTED AS A HAND...

A CHINESE JADEITE BELTHOOK AND PLAQUE MOUNTED AS A HAND HELD MIRROR 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY The belthook terminating in a dragon's head, the plaque carved in shallow relief with a phoenix standing on rockwork by two large peony blooms, both attached with silvered mounts decorated with bats and an incised floral spray, the reverse set with a glass mirror, 17cm overall. Provenance: from the collection of Brigadier Gordon Richardson, DSO, OBE (1910-1998) and thence by descent. Richardson joined the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles in India in 1931 before working as an instructor at Sandhurst between 1938 and 1940. Richardson was awarded an immediate DSO in 1944 when commanding the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles during the Italian campaign at Monte Cassino. He then received a bar to this DSO later in the same year. Afterwards, Richardson served in Greece, India, Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong. He retired from the British Army in 1964 and then spent nine years in Nepal working for the Overseas Aid Development Corporation.