A TINNED BRONZE LEOPARD-FORM YOKE ORNAMENT
A TINNED BRONZE LEOPARD-FORM YOKE ORNAMENT

NORTHWEST CHINA, 6TH-5TH CENTURY BC

Details
A TINNED BRONZE LEOPARD-FORM YOKE ORNAMENT
NORTHWEST CHINA, 6TH-5TH CENTURY BC
The hollow fitting of U-shaped cross section is cast in the shape of a crouching leopard shown facing forward with jaws open exposing the fangs and with the tail arched up onto the back. The comma scrolls on the body most likely representing the leopard's spots.
3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm.) long
Provenance
The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida, by 1995.
Literature
J. F. So and E. C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China's Northern Frontier, Washington D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1995, p. 116, no. 31 and p. 44, col. pl. 7.
J. F. So, 'Bronze Weapons, Harness and Personal Ornaments: Signs of Qin's Contacts with the Northwest', Orientations, November 1995, p. 39, fig.7. (left), where the author identifies the yoke ornament and another as of leopard shape.

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