Page 170 - Deydier VOL.2 Meiyintang Collection of Chinese Bronses

188. Bronze harness ornament
Western Zhou dynasty, circa 10 centuries bc.
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西周時期青銅馬首飾
Height: 24.1 cm

A rare bronze harness ornament cast as a mask in the form Provenance:
of a fierce beast, shown in profile with a curled horn, a ▪ Dr Arthur M. Sackler Collection, U.S.A.
pierced, bulbous eye beneath a concave eyebrow, a strong ▪ Christie’s, New York, November 25 – 26 , 2010.
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and powerful jaw, and a wide open mouth revealing ▪ Roger Keverne Ltd, London, U.K.
jagged teeth. The eyebrow, lip and cheek are decorated
with scrolls and circles. The reverse of this sheet of bronze Exhibited:
is concave. ▪ Christie’s, New York, November 25 – 26 , 2010,
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catalogue no. 1010.
The bronze plaque has a dark grey patina with malachite ▪ Trésors de la Chine ancienne, Bronzes Rituels De La
and cuprite incrustations. Collection Meiyintang, Musée des arts asiatiques
Guimet, Paris 13 mars - 10 juin 2013, catalogue no. 99.
Published:
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▪ Christie’s, New York, November 25 – 26 , 2010,
catalogue no. 1010.
▪ Guimet, Musée des arts asiatiques, Trésors de la
Chine ancienne, Bronzes Rituels De La Collection
Meiyintang, Paris 2013, p. 159, no. 99.
Similar examples:
▪ A pair of very similar plaques is published by Visser
H.F.E., Asiatic Art in Private Collections of Holland
and Belgium, Amsterdam & New York 1948, p. 158 -
159, pl. 39, no. 46.
▪ Another similar pair is illustrated by Kelley C.F.
and Ch’en Meng - chia, Chinese Bronzes from the
Buckingham Collection, Chicago 1946, p.76 - 77,
pl. XLII.
▪ A pair with very widely extended jaws, now in the
Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, is published
by Loo C.T., Exhibition of Chinese Arts, New York
1941, no.131.
▪ A pair in the form of dragons is published by Wang
Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection,
London 2009, p. 270 - 1, no.136.
▪ Another dragon-shaped pair is published by Watson
W., Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London 1962, pl. 82d.
Note:
▪ Such mask plaques were used to decorate the harnesses
of chariot horses.

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