China, 206 BC-220 AD. The guo is of tu (凸) form, the top with an arrow groove fitted with the wangshan (sight) as well as the ya which is connected with the xuan dao (trigger).

Provenance: From a private collection in the United Kingdom.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and corrosion, encrustations, casting flaws, tiny losses, minor dents, and light scratches. The bronze is covered in a rich, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustations.

Weight: 803 g
Dimensions: Height 17.5 cm

Mounted on a fitted acrylic stand. (2)

The crossbow (nu) was one variety of long-range, delayed-discharge weapons used in ancient China. The present lot constitutes the launching mechanism and would have been mounted at the rear of the wood arm. The bow staves were installed crossways at the front. The arrow was nestled lengthwise into the flight groove. While an archer pulls a regular bow using only the strength of his arm, a crossbow calls for the added support of both his foot and back, yielding a more powerful release. Moreover, the delayed discharge allowed for more time to take aim and, therefore, greater precision. For further information on ancient Chinese crossbows as well as crossbow mechanisms of the Han dynasty, see Shaoyi Zhong, 'Military Technology' in Yongxiang Lu (ed.), A History of Chinese Science and Technology, vol. 3, 2015, p. 535-541. See a wood replica of a Qin dynasty crossbow in the collection of Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, exhibited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties, 3 April-16 July 2017.

The Shiming, a Chinese dictionary believed to have been composed c. 200 AD, includes an entry on the crossbow:

The nu (弩) [crossbow] is so called because it spreads abroad an aura of rage [nù] (怒). Its stock is like the arm of a man, therefore it is called bi (臂). That which hooks the bowstring is called ya (牙), for indeed it is like teeth. The part round about the teeth [i.e. the housing box] is called the guo (郭) [‘city wall’], since it surrounds the gui (規) [lug] of the teeth [i.e. the locking nut]. Within [and below] there is the xuan dao (懸刀) [‘hanging knife’, i.e. the trigger blade] so called because it looks like one. The whole assembly is called ji (機)[‘machine’ or ‘mechanism’], for it is just as ingenious as the loom.

(see Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China Volume 5 Part 6, Cambridge University Press, 1994, p. 133)

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bronze crossbow component, dated Han to Six Dynasties, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, image number K1A000447N000000000PAC. Compare a closely related bronze crossbow mechanism, dated to the Western Han dynasty, 12.5 cm long, formerly in the collection of Goro Sakamoto and now in the Nara National Museum, accession number 1317-347.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 15 May 2024, lot 7
Price: GBP 3,302 or approx. EUR 3,900 converted at the time of writing
Description: An archaic bronze crossbow component, Eastern Han dynasty
Expert remark: Note the size (20 cm).