Page 29 - Sothebys HK Dragon Emperor April 2024

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PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT JAPANESE COLLECTION 商初 或二里頭文化 青銅嵌綠松石牌飾
A RARE TURQUOISE-INLAID BRONZE PLAQUE, 來源：
EARLY SHANG DYNASTY, POSSIBLY ERLITOU 懷古堂，紐約，1996年9月21日
CULTURE
13 cm 展覽：
《懷古堂》，紐約，1996年，編號56
PROVENANCE
Kaikodo, New York, 21st September 1996.
EXHIBITED
Kaikodo Journal, New York, 1996, cat. no. 56.

HK$ 300,000-400,000
US$ 38,400-51,500

Carefully set with hand-cut tesserae of turquoise in a stylised
zoomorphic pattern, this piece belongs to an extremely rare
group of inlaid bronze plaques. To date, only three plaques
of this type have been excavated from the archaeological
site at Erlitou in Henan Province, with around seven more
in museum collections around the world. Found only in the
most lavish tombs lying atop or alongside the deceased with
other valuable ritual objects, these plaques are believed
to have been possessions of elite ritual practitioners. For
example, a related plaque, recently exhibited at the Shanghai
Museum, was excavated in 1984 alongside extraordinary
objects such as jade blades and a bronze bell with a jade
clapper; another Erlitou turquoise-inlaid plaque, one of only
two to have come up at auction, was exhibited at Eskenazi
Ltd., Inlaid Bronze and Related Material from Pre-Tang China,
London, 1991, cat. no. 68, and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
3rd June 2015, lot 3201.
Turquoise inlaid plaques of this type vary somewhat in form
and design; the present piece being slightly longer in shape
and with a more abstract design than other known examples.
This piece is also the only known example with triangular
openwork and three mouth-like designs along its central
axis. Moreover, while other known plaques have four eyelets
cast along their perimeter, the present piece incorporates
these holes into the main body of the plaque. What unites
all of these plaques, however, is the presence of two round
turquoise eyes. Likely predecessors of the taotie motif of
the Shang dynasty, these imposing beady eyes would have
been a fearsome sight to behold when strapped to the arm
or chest of the practitioner. Though the specific meaning of
this stylised beast has long since been lost to history, pieces
of this kind clearly played an important role in the traditions
of this ancient civilisation.

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