Page 86 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art London Nov. 2019

53
A VERY RARE GOLD MASK
Liao Dynasty
With straps encircling the crown of the head and joined at the top by a
circular medallion, the facial features created by repousse with the hair
finely incised, the circumference of the mask with punched and chased
border, stand.
23cm (9in) long, 130.8gr (2).

£30,000 - 50,000
CNY270,000 - 440,000

遼 金制面具

Provenance: A & J Speelman Ltd., London, 24 June 1998
John J. Studzinski CBE, London
Published and illustrated: A & J Speelman Ltd., Catalogue, London,
1990, no.14

來源：英國倫敦古董商，A & J Speelman Ltd.，1998年6月24日
大英帝國司令勳章受勳者John J. Studzinski珍藏
出版著錄：英國倫敦，A & J Speelman Ltd.，《Catalogue》，1990
年，編號14

Gold masks made of gold sheets such as the present example appear
to have been an important part of the elaborate burial regalia of the
Liao aristocracy.

The discovery in 2003 of the Liao dynasty tomb of the Princess
of Chen and her husband, Xiao Shaoju, in Naiman Banner, Inner
Mongolia, provided archaeological evidence of masks being made
from gold sheet. The tomb also yielded a profusion of personal
ornaments made of silver such as boots, headdresses, belts and
purses but also jewellery made of precious and semi-precious
stones such as jade, agate, amber and crystal and finally garments
manufactured with the finest silk. These findings suggests that
the finest materials appear to have been exclusively reserved for
consumption by the highest nobility of the Liao society; for reference
see Neimenggu Wenwu Kaogu Yanjiu, ‘Liao tomb of Princess of the
State of Chen’, Wenwu, 11, 1987.

Two gold masks of a type similar to the present example are illustrated
in Chinesisches Gold und Silber: Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Zürich,
1994, pp.212-213, nos.239 and 241, as well as a similar ‘net’ of eight
narrow straps radiating from a central circular medallion.

Compare with a similar gold mask, Liao dynasty, which was sold at
Christie’s New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1292.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
84 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.