Page 73 - March 16, 2017 Chinese Art, The Harris Collection, Christies
P. 73
(rubbing) 866
A CAST SILVER CIRCULAR ORNAMENT
Rubbing by Li Zhi (李穉拓) NORTH CHINA, 3RD CENTURY BC
The domed ornament is cast in relief with a ram, its ribbed horn encircling the
central aperture, its front legs bent at the bottom and its hindquarters slung over
its head at the top. A raised woven pattern on the reverse indicates that the piece
was cast using the lost-wax/lost-textile process. Together with a pair of circular
bronze ornaments, North China, 3rd-2nd century BC, each domed ornament is
cast in relief with a coiled ram, its hindquarters fung over its head, all within a rope
border. A horizontal attachment loop is on the reverse.
1Ω and 1¿ in. (3.7 and 2.9 cm.)
(3)
$3,000-5,000
PROVENANCE
The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida, by 1991.
LITERATURE
Silver ornament: J. F. So and E. C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China’s Northern
Frontier, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington DC, 1995, p. 139, no. 58 and p. 60,
col. pl. 12.
A similar silver ornament is illustrated by E. C. Bunker et al., Nomadic Art of the
Eastern Eurasian Steppes, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2002, p.
173, no. 160, where the authors note that similar gold ornaments were found at
Xinzhuangtou, Hebei province, which was the southern capital of the Yan state
during the fourth and third centuries B.C.
公元前三世紀 中國北部 銀盤羊紋圓飾
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