13th Oct, 2023 11:00
THREE-DAY AUCTION - Fine Chinese Art / 中國藝術集珍 / Buddhism & Hinduism
599
A PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE TAOTIE MASKS WITH RING HANDLES, WARRING STATES TO HAN DYNASTY
戰國至漢代一對鎏金銅獸面活環輔首
Sold for €1,040
including Buyer's Premium
China, 5th century BC to 2nd century AD. Each well cast and finely detailed with bulging eyes below thick brows and ruyi horns, all above a pair of arms, each suspending a loose ring from the down-turned nose, which continues into a rectangular tab on the back below another tab pierced for attachment. (4)
Provenance: P.C. Lu Works of Art Ltd, Hong Kong. The private collection of an American north-east collector, acquired from the above. Started as a small business in January 1976 in Hong Kong, selling Chinese antiques, P.C. Lu was able to scale operations, eventually sending his son Fred to the MIT to pursue his PhD. Today, many objects from his fine collection are housed in the British Museum.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, light scratches, minor dents and losses, signs of weathering and erosion, expected casting flaws. Fine, solid patina with malachite encrustations.
Dimensions: Height 7.1 cm (each)
Please click here to read the full description
Expert's note: Taotie masks handles which retain their forelegs remain truest to their Shang and Zhou bronze precursors and should be dated to the early Western Han Dynasty. The inclusion of human-like arms in this design is rather unusual, and related to a small number of bronze ring handles with human-form decoration, including one excavated in 1968 at Mancheng, Hebei, from the tomb of Liu Sheng (d.113 BC) in the Hebei Provincial Museum which was illustrated in the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalog Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.-A.D. 220), New York, 2017, pages 184-185, no. 103.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24-25 March 2022, lot 294
Estimate: USD 3,000 or approx. EUR 2,900 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pair of small gilt-bronze taotie mask fittings, Han-Northern Wei dynasty (206 BC-534 AD)
Expert remark: Compare the related decoration. Note the similar size (7 cm) and that the lot also comprises a pair.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 9 May 2016, lot 727
Estimate: USD 3,000 or approx. EUR 3,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pair of small gilt-bronze taotie mask and loose ring handles, Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related decoration. Note the similar size (6.5 cm) and that the lot also comprises a pair.
点此阅读中文翻译 (Chinese Translation)
戰國至漢代一對鎏金銅獸面活環輔首
中國，公元前五世紀至公元二世紀。鑄造精良，細節精緻，獸面濃密的眉毛，彎曲的角，大眼圓睜，嘴部有一雙手，鼻子下懸掛一個可以活動的環。細膩堅固的包漿，帶有紅綠色銅鏽結殼。(4)
來源：香港P.C. Lu Works of Art Ltd藝術公司；美國東北部私人收藏購於上述公司。P.C. Lu 藝術公司於1976 年 1 月在香港成立，最初是一家銷售中國古董的小企業，後來擴大運營規模，最終將他的兒子Fred送到麻省理工學院攻讀博士學位。 如今，他的許多精美收藏品都收藏在大英博物館中。
品相：狀況非常好，大面積磨損、輕微的劃痕、凹痕和缺損、風化和侵蝕的跡象。細膩堅實的包漿，帶有綠色結殼。
尺寸：各高7.1 厘米
拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2022年3月24-25日，lot 294
估價：USD 3,000（相當於今日EUR 2,900）
描述：漢/北魏銅鎏金鋪首啣環飾一對
專家評論：比較相近的裝飾。請注意相似的尺寸(7 厘米) ，以及此為一對。
拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦邦翰斯，2016年5月9日，lot 727
估價：USD 3,000（相當於今日EUR 3,300）
描述：漢代一對鎏金銅鋪首啣環飾
專家評論：比較相近的裝飾。請注意相似的尺寸(6.5 厘米) ，以及此為一對。
China, 5th century BC to 2nd century AD. Each well cast and finely detailed with bulging eyes below thick brows and ruyi horns, all above a pair of arms, each suspending a loose ring from the down-turned nose, which continues into a rectangular tab on the back below another tab pierced for attachment. (4)
Provenance: P.C. Lu Works of Art Ltd, Hong Kong. The private collection of an American north-east collector, acquired from the above. Started as a small business in January 1976 in Hong Kong, selling Chinese antiques, P.C. Lu was able to scale operations, eventually sending his son Fred to the MIT to pursue his PhD. Today, many objects from his fine collection are housed in the British Museum.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, light scratches, minor dents and losses, signs of weathering and erosion, expected casting flaws. Fine, solid patina with malachite encrustations.
Dimensions: Height 7.1 cm (each)
Please click here to read the full description
Expert's note: Taotie masks handles which retain their forelegs remain truest to their Shang and Zhou bronze precursors and should be dated to the early Western Han Dynasty. The inclusion of human-like arms in this design is rather unusual, and related to a small number of bronze ring handles with human-form decoration, including one excavated in 1968 at Mancheng, Hebei, from the tomb of Liu Sheng (d.113 BC) in the Hebei Provincial Museum which was illustrated in the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalog Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.-A.D. 220), New York, 2017, pages 184-185, no. 103.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24-25 March 2022, lot 294
Estimate: USD 3,000 or approx. EUR 2,900 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pair of small gilt-bronze taotie mask fittings, Han-Northern Wei dynasty (206 BC-534 AD)
Expert remark: Compare the related decoration. Note the similar size (7 cm) and that the lot also comprises a pair.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 9 May 2016, lot 727
Estimate: USD 3,000 or approx. EUR 3,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pair of small gilt-bronze taotie mask and loose ring handles, Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related decoration. Note the similar size (6.5 cm) and that the lot also comprises a pair.
点此阅读中文翻译 (Chinese Translation)
戰國至漢代一對鎏金銅獸面活環輔首
中國，公元前五世紀至公元二世紀。鑄造精良，細節精緻，獸面濃密的眉毛，彎曲的角，大眼圓睜，嘴部有一雙手，鼻子下懸掛一個可以活動的環。細膩堅固的包漿，帶有紅綠色銅鏽結殼。(4)
來源：香港P.C. Lu Works of Art Ltd藝術公司；美國東北部私人收藏購於上述公司。P.C. Lu 藝術公司於1976 年 1 月在香港成立，最初是一家銷售中國古董的小企業，後來擴大運營規模，最終將他的兒子Fred送到麻省理工學院攻讀博士學位。 如今，他的許多精美收藏品都收藏在大英博物館中。
品相：狀況非常好，大面積磨損、輕微的劃痕、凹痕和缺損、風化和侵蝕的跡象。細膩堅實的包漿，帶有綠色結殼。
尺寸：各高7.1 厘米
拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2022年3月24-25日，lot 294
估價：USD 3,000（相當於今日EUR 2,900）
描述：漢/北魏銅鎏金鋪首啣環飾一對
專家評論：比較相近的裝飾。請注意相似的尺寸(7 厘米) ，以及此為一對。
拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦邦翰斯，2016年5月9日，lot 727
估價：USD 3,000（相當於今日EUR 3,300）
描述：漢代一對鎏金銅鋪首啣環飾
專家評論：比較相近的裝飾。請注意相似的尺寸(6.5 厘米) ，以及此為一對。
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