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Lot Essay
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.
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.