.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Not until the excavation in 1983 of the 2nd century BC tomb of the King of Nanyue, in Guangzhou, Guandong province, in which bronze tuning keys were found together with a set of tuning pegs for a qin, was the function of objects of this type understood. Qin zhen yao were used to tighten the pegs on which the strings of a qin are wound. Various bronze tuning keys are shown in line drawings illustrated by J. So, ed., Music in the Age of Confucius, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 2000, p. 78., fig. 3.
Of the published examples, most are surmounted by an animal or bird, and a number of these are surmounted by a bear, including one previously in the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, illustrated by Li Xueqin, The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, no. 94, and subsequently sold in these rooms, 24 March 2004, lot 112. A bronze tuning key with the rare depiction of monkeys was sold in these rooms, 21 September 2001, lot 182, from the Falk Collection I.
Of the published examples, most are surmounted by an animal or bird, and a number of these are surmounted by a bear, including one previously in the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, illustrated by Li Xueqin, The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, no. 94, and subsequently sold in these rooms, 24 March 2004, lot 112. A bronze tuning key with the rare depiction of monkeys was sold in these rooms, 21 September 2001, lot 182, from the Falk Collection I.