Page 59 - March 16, 2017 Chinese Art, The Harris Collection, Christies

852 (another view)
A GILT-BRONZE ZITHER STRING ANCHOR, SE RUI
NORTH CHINA, 2ND-1ST CENTURY BC

The domed top forms the cap of a square socket and is cast in
high relief as the compact body of a seated bear facing forward,
the large paws in various positions.
2 in. (5.1 cm.) high

$4,000-6,000

PROVENANCE

Jay C. Lef (1925-2000) Collection, Pittsburgh; Sotheby Parke
Bernet, 12-13 October, 1975, lot 90.
The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida.

LITERATURE

J. Haskins, Near Eastern and Far Eastern art from the collection of
Jay C. Lef, New York, 1965, p. 37.
J. F. So and E. C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China’s Northern
Frontier, Washington D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1995, pp.
150-151, no. 72.

This piece would have been one of a set of four string anchors,
rui, for a se zither. The particular motif of a seated bear shown
within a round context is typical of the Western Han period.

公元前二至一世紀 中國北方 鎏金銅熊紋瑟枘

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