A PAIR OF SILVER-INLAID BRONZE CYLINDRICAL FITTINGS

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A PAIR OF SILVER-INLAID BRONZE CYLINDRICAL FITTINGS
WARRING STATES PERIOD

Each made in two sections, one section terminating in a raised, grooved band and cast on the interior with a slightly raised rectangular tab which locks into a corresponding notch on the rim of the other section, each section divided into two registers by a narrow, raised band inlaid with 'S' scrolls separated by four vertical lines, the wider register decorated with a continuous band of closed 'S'-scrolls conjoined by a 'V' formation which is an extension of each scroll, all within thin, single line borders, the narrower register decorated with a zigzag pattern created by facing rows of angular, diagonal bands issuing from the arched bands below a ruyi motif, all incorporating finely coiled spirals and circles, the bronze with a smooth patina of mottled coppery olive tone mottled in dark red and green--11 5/8in. (29.5cm.) long, fitted box (2)

Lot Essay

It is very rare to find an identical pair of bronze inlaid fittings and for such large sections of the fittings to survive intact

A shorter fitting with designs very similar to the central sections of this pair is illustrated by d'Argencé, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection, California, 1966, pl. XLIXC. The influence of lacquer work and textiles on inlaid silver designs of this period is evident. For an Eastern Zhou ear-cup unearthed at Yutaishan, Jiangling, Hubei, with a band of decoration closely related to the upper and lower registers of this fitting, see Teng Rensheng, Lacquer Wares of the Chu Kingdom, Hong Kong, 1992, p.12, no.1

For a fitting with a different silver inlaid design, but with similarly large sections intact, see Sotheby's, New York, June 3, 1992, lot 55