Page 52 - 2019 September 12th Christie's New York Chiense Art Masterpieces of Chinese Gold and Silver

MASTERPIECES OF EARLY CHINESE GOLD AND SILVER | 金紫銀青 - 中國早期金銀器粹珍

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TWO RARE OPENWORK GOLD BEADS
EASTERN HAN DYNASTY (AD25-220)
Each spherical bead is elaborately composed of twelve small gold rings These rare gold beads are similar to two from a group of gold foral-
joined together with fne bead granulation. form beads, of various shapes, all with granulation, illustrated by Yang
Boda, ‘Ancient Chinese Cultures of Gold Jewellery and Ornamentation’,
Ω and ¬ in. (1.4 and 1.7 cm.) diam.; weight 10.9 and 15.4 g (2)
Arts of Asia, vol. 38, no. 2, March-April 2008, p. 101, pl. 43. See, also, the
$5,000-7,000 single bead in the Cheng Xun Tang Collection included in the exhibition
Celestial Creations: Art of the Chinese Goldsmith, Art Museum, Institute
of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007, pp.
PROVENANCE 82-83, no. B05. A bead similar to the two present examples is illustrated
Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953,
by Zhixin Jason Sun et al., with a group of other gold beads, in Age of
no. CK13.
Empires: Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties, The Metropolitan Museum
Sotheby’s London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. of Art, New York, 2017, pp. 196-97, no. 112a-f, where it is dated ca. 1st
Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 37. century BC-2nd century AD. The author notes that gold beads of this
type have been found at numerous ancient sites in southeast Asia
EXHIBITED
and China, suggesting that they were “sought-after trade items on the
Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, Chinese Gold & Silver in the
Carl Kempe Collection, 1954-55, cat no. 13. Central, South, and Southeast Asian and Chinese markets.” He goes on
to propose that they “were likely made in the ancient city of Taxila” as it
LITERATURE was a “pivotal junction between South and Central Asia where a large
Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, number of such beads have been recovered.”
Stockholm, 1953, cat. no. 13.
Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art 東漢 金珠兩顆
and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 13.

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