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822                                                          824

                                                                      A RARE DOUBLE-SIDED INSCRIBED                                A RARE PAIR OF RETICULATED GILT-SILVER    A well-known gilt-silver crown flanked by a pair of similar
                                                                      LIMESTONE BUDDHIST STELE                                     ‘PHOENIX’ CROWN ORNAMENTS                 openwork ornaments enclosing long-tailed phoenix against
                                                                      TANG DYNASTY, DATED SHANGYUAN                                LIAO DYNASTY                              scrolling tendrils, discovered from the tomb of the Princess
                                                                      2ND YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 675                               Japanese wood box (4)                     of Chen at Qinglongshan town in Naiman Banner, Inner
                                                                                                                                                                             Mongolia, in 1986, now preserved in the Research Institute
                                                                      Height 19¼ in., 49 cm                                        Height 11¼ in., 28.5 cm                   of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia, was
                                                                                                                                                                             included in the exhibition Gilded Splendor. Treasures of
                                                                      PROVENANCE                                                   PROVENANCE
                                                                                                                                                                             China’s Liao Empire (907-1125), Asia Society, New York,
                                                                      Offered at Sotheby’s New York, 21st September 2006, lot 120.  Acquired in the late 1970s.              2006, cat. no. 3 and cover (detail). The Princess of Chen’s
                                                                      A small series of Buddhist votive steles, closely linked in   The present pair of ornaments were originally part of a highly   tomb has been dated to the 7th year of Kaitai, corresponding
                                                                      style to the present piece, is illustrated in Matsubara Saburo,   elaborate gilt-silver crown worn by a high-ranking female   to 1018. See also a gilt-bronze crown set with a related pair
                                                                      Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, Tokyo, 1966, pls 243 (c), pl. 245   aristocrat during the Liao dynasty (907-1125). Intricately   of ornamental plaques in the San Antonio Museum of Art,
                                                                      (b) dated equivalent to 679A.D., pl. 247 (c) dated equivalent   made from a thinly hammered gilt-silver sheet featuring a   Texas (accession no. 2021.1.1), published on their website.
                                                                      to 676 A.D., and pl.248 (a) dated equivalent to 672 A.D. See   complex openwork design of phoenix amid elaborate floral
                                                                      also a stele from the Wannieck Collection, illustrated in Osvald   scrolls, this pair of ornaments is not only a symbol of the   ⊖ $ 50,000-70,000
                                                                      Siren, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth    prestigious social status of its original owner, but also a
                                                                      Century, vol. 4, New York, 1970, pl. 509; and another sold in   testament to the technical mastery achieved by the skillful   遼   銀鎏金透空穿花鳳紋冠翅一對
                                                                      our London rooms, 17th December 1996, lot 170.               metal workers during the Liao dynasty.
                                                                                                                                                                             來源
                                                                      $ 20,000-30,000                                                                                        得於1970年代末
                                                                      唐上元二年(675年)   石灰石雕佛像龕

                                                                      來源
                                                                      上拍於紐約蘇富比2006年9月21日,編號120







            822










           823
           A PAIR OF LIMESTONE ZODIAC FIGURES
           OF PIGS
           TANG DYNASTY
           (2)
           Length 63/4  in., 17.2 cm
           PROVENANCE
           Offered at Sotheby’s New York, 26th November 1991, lot 417
           $ 7,000-9,000

           唐   石灰石亥豬一對
                                                                                    823
           來源
           上拍於紐約蘇富比1991年11月26日,編號417



           426     SOTHEBY’S        COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11275                                                                                                                                          427
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