A SET OF FIFTEEN WHITE JADE AND GILT-BRONZE HARNESS ELEMENTS, LIAO DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Published: Myrna Myers (ed.) & Filippo Salviati (auth.), The Language of Adornment. Chinese Ornaments of Jade, Crystal, Amber and Glass, Paris, 2002, no. 116.

China, 10th-11th century. The group comprising three end pieces, a buckle, and eleven plaques with foliate contours, along with a pendant loop to which leather straps were likely attached. All elements worked in gilt bronze, with thirteen of the pieces embellished with jade insets carved in shallow relief to depict a bird in profile with its long tail gracefully turned upward. Each ornament consisting of an upper element bearing the jade inset, riveted to a plain bronze backing, with a deliberate space left between the two layers to allow the passage of a leather bridle. (15)

Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Condition commensurate with age, with expected ancient wear, some areas with soil encrustation, some loose elements, sparse nicks, light surface scratches, and extensive rubbing to gilt-bronze fittings.

Weight: 309.1 g (total)
Dimensions: Length 2.9-4.4 cm

The horse was not simply a useful animal for the pastoral, nomadic people of Central Asia, but a valuable possession and a real companion in life. The Liao were no exception, and their high esteem for horses is proved by the precious harnesses of richly caparisoned horses discovered in princely tombs. The harness elements presented in this lot are a good example of this rare type of adornment. In workmanship and choice of precious materials, they approach ornaments worn by high-ranking people, whose status was also reflected in the decoration on the trappings of their mounts.

The jade insets are pivotal in determining the sex and the status of the owner of this harness. The bird depicted in profile, most likely to be a phoenix or a peacock, suggests that the harness was originally meant for a high ranking woman. This can be deduced by comparison with the harness discovered in the tomb of the Princess of Chen, which was found in one of the side funerary chambers of the tomb. That harness shows frequent use of the phoenix motif on the gilt-silver saddle flaps and even in the decoration of the horse's bit. According to the Liaoshi, jade was considered as valuable as gold, so its presence in a royal tomb was a distinct status marker. Thus, the harness presented here, with its jade insets, was probably originally intended to adorn the mount of a woman closely associated with the Liao imperial family. See Inner Mongolian Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (ed.), Liao Chengguo gongzhu Mu (Tomb of the Princess of State Chen), Beijing, 1993, fig. 11, 70-73.

Literature comparison:
Compare a group of three related gilt-bronze mounted jade belt fittings, dated to the Liao dynasty, in the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, record number BATEA : 451.