Page 208 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED NEW YORK COLLECTION
917
AN EXTREMELY RARE PARCEL-GILT SILVER ‘PHEASANT’ BOX AND COVER
LIAO DYNASTY (AD 907-1125)
The bird is naturalistically modeled standing on a lotus-pod base with its head raised, and the surface
is fnely chased with plumage. The body is attached with thin, futtering wings and a long tail.
15Ω in. (39 cm.) long
$40,000-60,000

PROVENANCE
Mandela Fine Arts, Hong Kong, 1999.
Luxurious covered boxes made of gold and silver were popular during the Tang (AD 618-907) and Liao
(AD 907-1125) dynasties. Containing precious substances and objects, these boxes were highly treasured
and important status symbols. Most boxes from the Tang and Liao dynasties are of circular or square
forms, and the fully sculptural bird form of the present box is extremely rare, and no other example appears
to have been published. With its characteristic pointy wings and long tail feathers, the present box may
represent a Mongolian pheasant. The carefully applied parcel gilding suggests the warm glow of the
pheasant’s brown feathers. In China the pheasant is regarded as an emblem for beauty and good fortune,
and during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, represented one of the Twelve Ancient
Symbols of Imperial Authority (huachong). Particularly noteworthy with the current box are the long
projecting wings that are attached to the body by delicate, thin pins, allowing them to “futter” with the
slightest breeze or movement, endowing the pheasant with a distinctive sense of animation.

The lotus pod design on the base of the present box can also be found on contemporaneous 10th century
ceramics, such as the Yue circular box and cover sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2009, lot 321.
The lotus was a particularly popular motif in the Chinese decorative arts, since it was associated with
Buddhism, harmony in marriage, and was also a symbol of beauty and purity. The seed pod symbolizes
fertility, and is associated with the birth of sons.
遼 局部鎏金銀雉雞蓋盒

(another view)

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