Page 18 - Chiense Silver and Gold, 2012, J.J. Lally, New York

2. A Gilt-Silver Seal W ith Tortoise Knop
Eastern Han Dynasty – Three Kingdoms Period, A.D. 3rd Century

the solid silver square block well cast with a tortoise standing on top with its oversized flipper-feet
splayed into the corners, the domed carapace realistically rendered with linear rows of repeating
lozenge-shaped segments, the head extended and the short tail touching the block, the worn
surface showing traces of gilding in the recesses and on the underside, the tortoise hollowed and
with a wide opening between the legs to allow for a cord to be strung under the body, the flat base
with four seal characters in intaglio.
Height ⁄2 inch (1.4 cm)
1
The seal may be read as Zhao Guang si yin (趙廣私印), which may be translated as “private seal of Zhao Guang.”
The owner of the seal may have been the second son of the famous General Zhao Yun (d. 229) of the Three Kingdoms
period. According to The History of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo zhi), Zhao Guang served as a General (Yamen jiang) for the
Shu State in present day Sichuan Province and died in a battle on the northern frontier.
In ancient China, the choice of material and design for seals often was determined by the hierarchy of official ranks. Most
Han dynasty seals were made of bronze, and the great majority had simple tab-loop knops. Seals made in silver or gold
with tortoise-form knops such as the present example were reserved for use by high ranking civil and military officials, and
private seals often were extended the same official status despite the omission of the rank title.
Compare the Han dynasty silver tortoise-knop official seal unearthed in 1983 at Fengxiang county, Shaanxi province,
illustrated in Zhongguo meishu fenlei quanji, Zhongguo jin yin boli falang qi quanji (Illustrated Classification of Chinese Art,
Chinese Gold, Silver, Glass, and Cloisonné), Vol. I, Gold and Silver (I), Shijiazhuang, 2004, p. 160, no. 192. Another silver
seal of this type, excavated in 1967 at Guanzhen, Weishi county, Henan province, is illustrated in the same volume, loc. cit.,
no. 193, attributed to the Eastern Han dynasty.
Compare also the bronze tortoise-knop private seal in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in A Catalogue of
the Special Exhibition of Bronze Seals Throughout the Dynasties in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1987, p. 203, no. 132,
attributed to the Eastern Han dynasty.
東漢 — 三國 鎏金銀龜鈕趙廣私印 高 1.4 厘米

3. A Cast Silver T a o T i e Mask And Ring Handle
Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220)
the monster-mask with bulging eyes set under wide flat scrolled eyebrows which join and curve
down to form the hooked nose supporting the solid loose ring, the sides of the mask formed as
‘C’-scrolls ending in tight spirals, the forehead centered with an inset linear ‘mountain peak’, the
reverse with a pierced tab for attachment, the smooth burnished surface showing traces of bright
green patination widely scattered and remains of encrusted earth, the back of the mask left plain
and unfinished.
Height overall 3 ⁄8 inches (8.5 cm)
3
A smaller gilt bronze taotie mask and ring handle of very similar form, originally mounted on a lacquer lian, unearthed from
the Han imperial tomb complex at Mancheng in Hebei province, is illustrated in the excavation report Mancheng Han mu
fajue baogao (Excavation Report of the Han Dynasty Tombs in Mancheng), Vol. II, Beijing, 1980, pl. 217, no. 2. A lacquer lian
from the same tomb decorated with a similar mask and handle is illustrated in a line drawing, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 301, pl. 202.
漢 饕餮銀鋪首 通高 8.5 厘米