A RARE SMALL GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF A DRAGON

TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

Details

A RARE SMALL GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF A DRAGON
Tang dynasty (618-907)
Finely cast standing on its front legs while forcefully flinging the back legs up into the air, the graceful and powerful curve of the body accentuated by the slightly ridged backbone, with a small curl at the base of the long, slender tail and another at the top of the neck below the upcurved tip of the pierced horn, the open mouth also pierced to show the fangs and tongue, with some encrustation
4¾in. (12cm.) high, stand and box

Lot Essay

This animated figure is related to the larger (34cm.) gilt-bronze dragon shown in the same position unearthed in 1975 at Caochangpo in the Southern suburb of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and now in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, included in the exhibition, China: 5,000 Years, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1998, no. 59, and cover.

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