NORTHWEST CHINA, 5TH CENTURY BC

Details

A RARE LARGE BRONZE ANIMAL-FORM HARNESS ORNAMENT
NORTHWEST CHINA, 5TH CENTURY BC
The plaque is cast in high relief as a large tiger shown in profile, its head projecting outward and to the side as it strides above a small ibex seen struggling between its legs. The tiger has bared teeth, a long tail swept up onto the back, and parallel lines delineating various areas of the body above the prominent claws. There are two vertical attachment loops on the concave reverse. There is some malachite encrustation.
5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) long, wood stand

Provenance

Acquired in the United States in the 1990s.

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Michael Bass

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Lot Essay

A very similar ornament is illustrated in Exhibition of Chinese Arts, C.T. Loo & Co., New York, 1941-1942, no. 110. Two bronze harness ornaments of this type, cast in a similar fashion as recumbent carnivores shown in profile clutching a fallen ram, and with their heads raised and turned to the side, which are dated 5th-4th century BC, are illustrated by J.F. So and E.C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China's Northern Frontier, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 1995, p. 115, no. 30. Also illustrated, p.116, fig. 30.2, is a bronze yoke fitting in the form of a very similar lion, dated 5th century BC, in the Grenville L. Winthrop Bequest, Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums.

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