Page 30 - Sotheby's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works of Art, Oct. 9, 2022

The imaginative design and superb quality of the present 祥龍頭頂雙角，銳目含威，身軀曲彎有勁，以利爪握
sword-hilt transform an archaic warfare instrument into a 框攀柄而上。藝匠結合鏤空與錯金銀工藝，以創思巧
status symbol, signifying the wealth and power of the owner. 技，昇華兵戎之器，炫耀物主富榮與權力。金銀細
The double-horned dragon with alert eyes ascends the
hilt with its long tail and sharp claws wrapping around the 線，彰顯龍身矯健與敏捷，彷彿下一瞬便會奪門而
framework. The gold and silver inlays highlight not only the 出。環飾金銀卷雲，仙氣滿溢，暗蘊祥瑞，揭示古人
muscularity but also the agility of the mythical beast, as if it 對永生的渴求，即便是權傾天下，也不無例外。
could charge at any moment. The scrolling clouds, splendidly
decorated, give the piece an ethereal quality and hint at the 此劍柄巧思妙造，未有類例見載，疑為孤品。參考漢
desire for immortality of even the most powerful class in 代中山靖王劉勝墓出土博山爐，其座飾鏤空錯金龍
ancient China.
紋，上方且有祥雲，見《滿城漢墓發掘報告》，北
This sword-hilt appears to be a unique work of art; no 京，1980年，編號1:5182，卷1，圖44-45，卷2，彩圖
comparable example appears to be recorded. A related
incense burner, decorated with gold-inlaid dragons in 版9及圖版30。該陵尚有匕首，其銅柄鏤空，出處同
openwork beneath scrolling clouds, was excavated from 上，編號1:5109，卷1，圖55.3，卷2，圖版XLIV-4，
the famous tomb of the Han dynasty Prince of Zhongshan, 還有錯金銅獸首鏄，同飾相類雲紋，編號1:5073，卷
Liu Sheng; see Mancheng Han mu fajue baogao [Excavation 1，圖74.1-2，卷2，彩圖版XII.2及圖版LXIX.2。
report of the Han tombs at Mancheng], Beijing, 1980, no.
1:5182, vol. 1, figs 44-45, vol. 2, col. pl. IX and pl. XXX. A
dagger with an elaborately reticulated bronze hilt was also 另可參考博物館藏裝飾工藝相若之器，如華盛頓史密
unearthed from the same mausoleum, ibid., no. 1:5109, vol. 1, 森學會弗利爾美術館之漢錯金劍柄，首部作鏤空團
fig. 55.3, vol. 2, pl. XLIV-4, together with a gold-inlaid bronze 龍，編號F1916.484a-b；或哈佛賽克勒藝術博物館藏
animal mask ferrule with comparable motifs, no. 1:5073, vol. 西周銅鏤空鞘飾，飾曲卷祥龍，盤坐鞘框上，編號
1, figs 74.1-2, vol. 2, col. pl. XII.2, and pl. LXIX.2. 1943.52.41。
See also similarly decorated objects in museum collections:
a gold-inlaid sword-hilt with an openwork pommel in the
form of a coiling dragon attributed to the Han dynasty in the
Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.,
accession no. F1916.484a-b; and a Western Zhou dynasty
bronze ornament modelled as an openwork dragon guarding
the frame in the form of a scabbard in the collection of
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, accession
no. 1943.52.41.

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