China, 475-221 BC. Cast in the shape of a gracefully recumbent bird, its head turned back, the elegantly curved beak resting on a granule, the bronze finial inlaid in silver with a geometric pattern that articulates the animal's plumage, all above a short integral socket.

Provenance: From the collection of Major Henry F. Stanley MC, and thence by descent. Major Henry Ferdinand Stanley (1911-1997), formerly of the Grenadier Guards, was recruited from the Royal Automobile Club in London in 1957 to form and head the Hong Kong Tourist Association, retiring from his role as executive director in 1971. He was widely known as the 'Father of Hong Kong Tourism'.
Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Wear, casting irregularities, signs of weathering and erosion, tarnish to silver, losses to inlays. The mounting shaft possibly reduced. The wood stand with a minor repair.

Weight: 289.9 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 11.7 cm

With an associated wood stand. (2)

Birds were a common decorative motif in the Western Zhou period, when a profusion of highly abstracted animal forms emerged in the decorative arts, most notably in the ornament of ritual bronze vessels. Avian motifs took on greater realism in the Eastern Zhou and the present lot is a good example of this aesthetic evolution. While quite stylized, the sophisticated geometric inlay attractively suggests the animal's feather patterns and the contours of its musculature. The particular pose of the bird depicted in this finial, with head turned back towards the body, perhaps in sleep, is common to many of the silver-inlaid bronze finials of this type that have been published and dated to the Warring States period. Most bird finials lack the luxurious silver inlay that we observe here, which indicates that the present piece belonged to an individual of particularly elite status.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related silver-inlaid dove finial, dated to the Qin dynasty, in the collection of the Xi’an Museum. Compare a related silver-inlaid bronze ‘phoenix’ finial in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bronze Articles for Daily Use, Hong Kong, 2007, p. 35, no. 31. Compare a related gold and silver inlaid bronze phoenix finial, 16.5 cm long, dated to the Warring States period, published and exhibited by J. J. Lally, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, 19 March-9 April 2011, no. 27.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 25 November 2022, lot 869
Price: HKD 113,400 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A silver-inlaid bronze 'bird' ornament, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period
Expert remark: Compare the related form and decoration with similar silver inlay, albeit of a far more stylized nature compared to the naturalistic designs found on the present lot. Note the size (7.2 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 16 March 2015, lot 2001
Price: USD 16,250 or approx. EUR 21,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare silver-inlaid bronze finial, dingshi, Warring States period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration with similar inlay of naturalistic design, yet arguably less varied and detailed than that found on the present lot. Note the size (7 cm).