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Lot Essay
The workmanship and materials of this ornament are representative of the Dian culture in Yunnan province, which was contemporary with the late Warring States to Eastern Han period in China, c. 4th century BC-1st century AD.
A similar buckle with red agate center encircled by concentric bands of malachite discs is illustrated by J.M. White and E.C. Bunker, Adornment for Eternity: Status and Rank in Chinese Ornament, Denver Art Museum, 1994, p. 114, pls. 33 and 34. That this type of buckle was worn at the waist can be seen in the depiction of four singers that form the top of two rows of entertainers on a gilt-bronze buckle unearthed at Shizaishan, Jinning county, Yunnan province, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Hunting and Rituals: Treasures from the Ancient Dian Kingdom of Yunnan, Hong Kong Museum of History, 2004, no. 109. Also illustrated, no. 69, is a related circular buckle found inserted in openings in a gold belt excavated at Lijiashan, Jiangchuan county, Yunnan.
A similar buckle with red agate center encircled by concentric bands of malachite discs is illustrated by J.M. White and E.C. Bunker, Adornment for Eternity: Status and Rank in Chinese Ornament, Denver Art Museum, 1994, p. 114, pls. 33 and 34. That this type of buckle was worn at the waist can be seen in the depiction of four singers that form the top of two rows of entertainers on a gilt-bronze buckle unearthed at Shizaishan, Jinning county, Yunnan province, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Hunting and Rituals: Treasures from the Ancient Dian Kingdom of Yunnan, Hong Kong Museum of History, 2004, no. 109. Also illustrated, no. 69, is a related circular buckle found inserted in openings in a gold belt excavated at Lijiashan, Jiangchuan county, Yunnan.