Beasts of Mountains and Seas · Jiao Returning to the Woods

Mountains and seas take form; wondrous creatures enter the guard. Beasts of Mountains and Seas · Jiao Returning to the Woods uses an upright oval outline and black-brown colored brass. Warm-brass lines and small silver-white and muted red details continue the collection’s shared material direction. Jiao turns back toward a grove at left. Shallow leopard-like spots mark its dog-shaped body, with a pair of ox-like horns swept back. A short branch at upper right and the lower ridge suggest a returning path. Shallow relief surrounds a single central aperture, with the whole composition enclosed by a plain thin rim. The reverse retains one low ridge at lower left and one short branch at upper right. Black wrapping, ivory diamond windows and plain warm-brass fittings echo one another.