A Chinese carved jade buckle and a hardstone-mounted gilt metal buckle 玉带扣与宝石嵌铜鎏金带扣一组两件 Qing dynasty 清 The jade buckle of two parts, the body carved with motifs of gourds and foliage, one section with dragon-head hook buckled into the ring of the other section, a floriform knob to the underside of each; the gilt buckle in two parts, decorated with finely chased floral and foliate motifs, mounted with three hardstones. (L(jade): 4 1/8 in., L(metal): 3 5/8 in.)Qty: (2)PROVENANCE: Property from the collection of Mr. Norman Potter, the jade buckle acquired prior to February 10, 1967; the gilt metal and hardstone example acquired prior to December 28, 1970 Thence by descent Footnote: NOTE: Norman Stanley Potter (1926–1970) was a collector with wide-ranging interests who developed an eye for classical arts and built a collection of Asian art, antiquities, and early European art. Born to Polish immigrants in New York City, Potter began his self-edification in the arts during his youth while exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a prominent mathematician and engineer, he participated in the Manhattan Project and later was a designer of complex defense systems. Together with his wife, the abstract artist Berne Potter, he was active in the art and antique worlds of New York and became friends with important gallerists and collectors, including Julius Carlebach and Melvin Gutman of Cole Galleries, Ltd., New York.