A Rare Incised Silver Dragon-Head Fitting
A Rare Incised Silver Dragon-Head Fitting

EASTERN HAN DYNASTY, (25-220 AD)

细节
A Rare Incised Silver Dragon-Head Fitting
Eastern Han dynasty, (25-220 AD)
Hollow-cast as a powerful, elongated dragon head with short beard extending from the lower jaw of the open mouth, with flared nostrils, prominent eyes below brows incised with fine hair markings, and a pair of slender horns swept back above pointed ears laid flat on either side of the neck which is finely detailed with small feather-like scales
5¾in. (14.6cm.) long, stand

拍品专文

This rare example of an incised silver dragon-head handle is an unusual Eastern Han variation on pieces which were typically made from gilt-bronze during the earlier stages of the Han dynasty. J. Rawson and E. Bunker in Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990, no. 117, suggest that dragon-shaped handles were used on lacquer vessels, grasped over and under the top of the head, with the beard acting as a brace for the little finger, though other examples have been identified as finials and chariot fittings.

Compare this piece with a gilt-bronze dragon-head handle excavated in 1976-77 from the Eastern Han tomb of Xianyu Huang dated to 165 AD, located in Wuqing county, Hebei province; see Kaogu xuebao, 1982:3, pp. 351-66, pl. 19, fig. 2. Another similar Han dynasty handle excavated from tomb no. 2 at Ganguan, in Hanjiang, Jiangsu province, illustrated in Wenwu, 1981:11, pl. 2, fig. 5, and in a line drawing on p. 6, fig. 15. A similar piece from the collection of A. Stoclet, Brussels, was included in The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-6, fig. 541. Compare, also, a dragon head lent by Charlotte C. and John C. Weber to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by J. Watt in his article 'The Arts of Ancient China', p. 40, no. 49, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 1990. The author notes that Han dynasty depictions of the dragon were greatly influenced by images of the 'heavenly horse' so revered during this period.