Page 60 - 2021 March 18 to 19th, Important Chinese Works of Art, Christie's New York City

VARIOUS PROPERTIES
803
A BRONZE HELMET 戰國 青銅盔
WARRING STATES PERIOD, 5TH-3RD CENTURY BC
來源:
The helmet has a central peak at the brow and is surmounted by a loop-
shaped finial, and is cast with two reticulated whorls on either side. The 於1992年1月購自香港。
dark brown patina has a few areas of green encrustation. 展覽:
9 in. (23 cm.) high 紐約, 懷古堂, 1996年。
紐約, 大都會博物館。
$6,000-8,000 出版:
《懷古堂》, 紐約, 1996年秋季刊, 58號。
PROVENANCE:
Acquired in Hong Kong, January 1992.
A very similar bronze helmet is illustrated by Cheng Dong and Zhong
EXHIBITED: Shao-yi, Ancient Chinese Weapons—A Collection of Pictures, Beijing,
New York, Kaikodo, 1996.
1990, image 12, no. 4-157, where it is dated Eastern Zhou. The earliest
bronze helmets in China date back to the Shang dynasty and covered
LITERATURE:
Kaikodo Journal, New York, Autumn 1996, no. 58. the neck and ears and were often decorated with taotie masks and
animal faces to make the warrior appear fearsome. For two examples
found in Anyang, see ibid., p. 40. See, also, the Shang dynasty example
surmounted by a horse-shaped finial from the James and Marilynn
Alsdorf Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 24 September 2020, lot
880. While Shang dynasty helmets were fashioned from bronze, body
armor was more commonly made from leather, both because it was more
economical than bronze and also because metallurgical techniques at
the time were not advanced enough to produce body armor that was light
enough to wear in battle.