Page 53 - 2020 September 21 Elegant Embellishment the RenLu Colelction, Bonham NYC

358

358
A GOLD PERFUME HOLDER, POMANDER See also a pomander excavated from a woman’s tomb in Nanjing
Song/Jin dynasty, 11th/12th century in 1980 published in Wenwu (Beijing: 1982.3), pl. 3 no. 1, and in
Crafted from a sheet of gold, pierced and decorated in repoussé and Zhongguo meishu quanji (Beijing: Renmin Meishu Chubanshe,
chasing technique, the teardrop-shaped container composed of two 1988) by Yang Boda, vol. 10, p. 41, pls. 86 & 87.
halves with one side fitting tightly into the other, meant to hold fragrant
leaves or scented material and to be suspended from either a belt or A gold pendant of similar form decorated in openwork with a
attached to a shawl. phoenix and peony design, excavated in 1980 from a Northern
3 3/8in (8.5cm) high Song tomb at Mufushan, Nanjing, and now in the collection of the
Nanjing Museum, is illustrated in Compendium of Chinese Works of
US$10,000 - 15,000 Art, Arts and Crafts 10: Gold, Silver, Glass, and Cloisonné (Beijing:
1987), p. 41, nos. 86 and 87, with description on p. 25, where the
author states that this type of pendant was worn on a silk cord or
宋/金 十一/十二世紀 鏤空金香薰盒一件 necklace and used as a pomander.

Compare similar examples published in Adornment for Eternity Another similar gold ‘twin phoenix’ pendant is illustrated in the
(Denver Art Museum, 1994) by Julia M. White and Emma C. Bunker. catalogue of the special exhibition organized by the Art Museum of
p 186, no. 98, and in Adornment for the Body and Soul, Ancient the Chinese University of Hong Kong, entitled Celestial Creations,
Chinese Ornaments from the Mengdiexuan Collection (Hong Kong: Art of the Chinese Goldsmith: The Cheng Xun Tang Collection,
The university Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, (Hong Kong: 2007), Vol. I, pp. 224–225, described as a scarf
1999), Emma C. Bunker, Julia M. White, and Jenny F. So, p. 289 pendant and attributed to the Song dynasty.
no.131.

ELEGANT EMBELLISHMENTS | 51