Lot 140
140
A SILVERED-BRONZE BIRD STAFF FINIAL modelled to resemble a pigeon with a rounded head and eyes, short curved beak and plump chest, the fan-shaped tail and wings incised by rows of herring-bone pattern, the body with overlapping semi-circular feathers, supported by a short cylindrical socket, Han Dynasty

Details
A SILVERED-BRONZE BIRD STAFF FINIAL modelled to resemble a pigeon with a rounded head and eyes, short curved beak and plump chest, the fan-shaped tail and wings incised by rows of herring-bone pattern, the body with overlapping semi-circular feathers, supported by a short cylindrical socket, Han Dynasty
11.5cm. long, stand

Lot Essay

Cf. A very similar finial included in the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, Special Exhibition of Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, 1990, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no.82

Dove-shaped finials were awarded to men who reached the age of 70 in the Han Dynasty and were subsequently treated with greater respect.

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