A Rare Pair of Gilded Silver Phoenixes
A Rare Pair of Gilded Silver Phoenixes

TANG DYNASTY, LATE 7TH-EARLY 8TH CENTURY

細節
A Rare Pair of Gilded Silver Phoenixes
Tang dynasty, late 7th-early 8th century
Each cut from paper-thin silver sheet in the form of a phoenix standing with wings spread and tail swept upwards as it grasps a budding lotus sprig in its beak, with finely incised feathers and details, lightly gilded on the surface
2 1/4in. (5.7cm.), box and stand
Falk Collection no. 519. (2)
出版
E. Capon, Tang China: Vision and Splendour of a Golden Age, London, 1989, p. 10.
展覽
Early Chinese Gold and Silver, New York, China House Gallery, China Institue in America, 1971, no. 35.
The Arts of China, Long Island University, C.W. Post Art Gallery, 1977, no. 95.
Chinese Gold and Silver in American Collections, Dayton, Ohio, Dayton Art Institute, 1984, no. 60.

拍品專文

According to legend, the phoenix first appeared in Chinese history during the reign of the semi-mythical Yellow Emperor, circa 2600 BC, and is supposed to appear only in times of peace and prosperity. The phoenix also presides over the southern quadrant of the heavens, and during the Tang dynasty became the symbol of the empress.

The present phoenixes, as well as a gold foil example in the Freer Gallery and a pair of gold sheet examples in the Cleveland Museum of Art, are very similar in form and detailing to those seen inlaid into the lacquer backing of a bronze mirror illustrated in Bronze Mirrors in the Shanghai Museum's Collection, Shanghai, 1987, pl. 79. The Freer example is illustrated by B. Gyllensvärd, 'T'ang Gold and Silver', B.M.F.E.A., 1957, No. 29, fig. 57g, and the pair from the collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art was also included in the exhibition, Chinese Gold & Silver in American Collections, 1984, no. 61. These silver and gold figures are examples of the pingtuo technique, practiced since the Han period, in which thin silver and gold decorations were inlaid into lacquer applied to the back of bronze mirrors and other items.

A phoenix very similar in stance can also be seen in a rubbing from the border of a stone tablet from Xingfusi, dated after 721, illustrated by J. Rawson, 'The Ornament on Chinese Silver of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-906)', Occasional Paper No. 40, British Museum, 1982, p. 51, fig. 40.