Lot Essay
A similar two-part belt fastener, lacking the chains, is illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Japan, 1989, pl. 231.
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NORTH OR NORTHWEST CHINA, 5TH CENTURY BC
Details
A BRONZE BELT HOOK AND MATCHING PLAQUE WITH CHAINS
NORTH OR NORTHWEST CHINA, 5TH CENTURY BC
Each half of the ensemble is in the form of a feline cast with whorl motifs on the haunches and a collar of tiny dots. Each has a backward-turned head and stands on a bar formed by the rigid body of a serpent terminating in a head at each end and with two loops below the feet. The extended tail of one animal terminates in a bird's head hook, the tail of the other curves downward to form an accommodating loop. The first half suspends two linked chains, the second a single ring, and each half has a circular button on the reverse.
3 ¼ and 2 ¾ in. (8.3 and 7 cm.) wide
NORTH OR NORTHWEST CHINA, 5TH CENTURY BC
Each half of the ensemble is in the form of a feline cast with whorl motifs on the haunches and a collar of tiny dots. Each has a backward-turned head and stands on a bar formed by the rigid body of a serpent terminating in a head at each end and with two loops below the feet. The extended tail of one animal terminates in a bird's head hook, the tail of the other curves downward to form an accommodating loop. The first half suspends two linked chains, the second a single ring, and each half has a circular button on the reverse.
3 ¼ and 2 ¾ in. (8.3 and 7 cm.) wide
Provenance
Plaque (without chains): C. T. Loo, Paris, 1948.
Dr. Franco Vannotti, Lugano, Switzerland.
Eskenazi, London, 1989.
Plaque (with chains): Christie’s New York, 10 December 1987, lot 11 (part).
Ensemble: The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida.
Dr. Franco Vannotti, Lugano, Switzerland.
Eskenazi, London, 1989.
Plaque (with chains): Christie’s New York, 10 December 1987, lot 11 (part).
Ensemble: The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida.
Literature
Hook without chains: W. Speiser, Ostasiatische Kunst und Chinoiserie, Cologne, 1953, no. 171.
V. Elisseeff, La Découverte de l’Asie, Paris, 1954, no. 314.
H. Brinker, Bronzen aus dem alten China, Zurich, 1975, no. 118, p. 149.
Eskenazi, Chinese and Korean Art from the Collections of Dr. Franco Vannotti, Hans Popper and Others, London, 1989, pp. 60-61, no. 20.
Ensemble: J. F. So and E. C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China's Northern Frontier, Washington D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1995, pp. 175-76, no. 102.
V. Elisseeff, La Découverte de l’Asie, Paris, 1954, no. 314.
H. Brinker, Bronzen aus dem alten China, Zurich, 1975, no. 118, p. 149.
Eskenazi, Chinese and Korean Art from the Collections of Dr. Franco Vannotti, Hans Popper and Others, London, 1989, pp. 60-61, no. 20.
Ensemble: J. F. So and E. C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China's Northern Frontier, Washington D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1995, pp. 175-76, no. 102.