11th Sep, 2025 11:00
The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers Part 1
43
A RARE PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE ‘TIGER’ GARMENT HOOKS, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
Sold for €2,340
including Buyer's Premium
China, 2nd century BC. Each in the form a crouching feline seated on its haunches as it extends its forelimbs, the paws pushing against the hooks. The sinuously cast beast with a fierce expression, the head gently raised and mouth wide open in a snarl, and tail curled over the back. The back with two circular buttons. (2)
Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, casting irregularities, traces of use, signs of weathering, small nicks, light surface scratches, tiny dings, expected minor losses to gilt, the bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with areas of malachite encrustation.
Weight: 43.8 g and 44.6 g
Dimensions: Length 7.7 cm and 7.9 cm
The tiger is one of the oldest and most revered animals in Chinese history. According to Han mythology, the tiger symbolized the Western cardinal point, and in conjunction with the Green Dragon of the West, Vermilion Bird of the South and Black Tortoise of the North, positioned the burial within the spatial-temporal features of the universe. It is possible that tigers were deemed to protect the tomb occupant against the malign influences they may encounter in their afterlife.
Expert’s note:
The design of the present hooks is related to an earlier group attributed to the Eurasian Steppes and specifically North China, often directly to the Ordos culture, known for significant finds of Scythian art. See for example a belt hook in the shape of a carnivore, Northwest China, 5th-4th century BC, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2002.201.198; and a bronze tiger-form belt hook, North or Northeast China, 6th century, at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2013, lot 1112.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related gilt bronze single garment hook, 7 cm long, also dated to the Western Han dynasty, 2nd century BC, formerly in the collection of Paul Singer, catalog number 1051, and illustrated on the website of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, under “Missing Art Objects from the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art”.
China, 2nd century BC. Each in the form a crouching feline seated on its haunches as it extends its forelimbs, the paws pushing against the hooks. The sinuously cast beast with a fierce expression, the head gently raised and mouth wide open in a snarl, and tail curled over the back. The back with two circular buttons. (2)
Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, casting irregularities, traces of use, signs of weathering, small nicks, light surface scratches, tiny dings, expected minor losses to gilt, the bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with areas of malachite encrustation.
Weight: 43.8 g and 44.6 g
Dimensions: Length 7.7 cm and 7.9 cm
The tiger is one of the oldest and most revered animals in Chinese history. According to Han mythology, the tiger symbolized the Western cardinal point, and in conjunction with the Green Dragon of the West, Vermilion Bird of the South and Black Tortoise of the North, positioned the burial within the spatial-temporal features of the universe. It is possible that tigers were deemed to protect the tomb occupant against the malign influences they may encounter in their afterlife.
Expert’s note:
The design of the present hooks is related to an earlier group attributed to the Eurasian Steppes and specifically North China, often directly to the Ordos culture, known for significant finds of Scythian art. See for example a belt hook in the shape of a carnivore, Northwest China, 5th-4th century BC, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2002.201.198; and a bronze tiger-form belt hook, North or Northeast China, 6th century, at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2013, lot 1112.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related gilt bronze single garment hook, 7 cm long, also dated to the Western Han dynasty, 2nd century BC, formerly in the collection of Paul Singer, catalog number 1051, and illustrated on the website of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, under “Missing Art Objects from the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art”.
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