Page 18 - 2020 September 21 Elegant Embellishment the RenLu Colelction, Bonham NYC

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A FINE AND RARE INLAID BRONZE GARMENT HOOK
Warring States/Western Han period
Imaginatively cast on the crest with a mythical winged bixie, its long
tail and open mouth joined to a curved shaft finely inlaid with silver
and turquoise and terminating in gilt bronze hooks, one end in the
form of a fantastic bear, the precocious animal standing on hind legs
in a dynamic pose with front paws resting on powerful thighs and
mouth agape, the opposing hook modeled as a dragon head with
ears laid back flanking deep-set eyes, the whole with patches of green
encrustation and supported by a knop for attachment.
8 3/8in (21.3cm) long

US$20,000 - 30,000

戰國/西漢 局部鎏金銅錯銀嵌松石雙獸首帶鈎一件

There are two turquoise inlaid belt hooks of thin elongated shape
published in Julia White et al Adornment for the Body and Soul:
Ancient Chinese Ornaments from the Mengdiexuan Collection (Hong
Kong: The Univ. Museum and Art Gallery, 1999, pp. 109 and 111; the
former dated to the Warring States period and the latter as Han.

See the gold harness fitting with a bear design published in Simon
Kwan and Sun Ji Zhongguo Gudai Jinshi [Chinese Gold Ornaments]
(Hong Kong: Muwen Tang Meishu Chubanshe, 2003), pp. 232-
233. Sun there notes that this artifact is likely related to recent
archaeological finds excavated from the area of the modern city of
Guangzhou.

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