NORTHWEST CHINA, 2ND-1ST CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE OPENWORK RECTANGULAR PLAQUE
NORTHWEST CHINA, 2ND-1ST CENTURY BC
The plaque is cast with two addorsed ibex with outward-facing heads cast in high relief, their arching horns entwined in the leaves of the trees beneath which they stand. The reverse is slightly concave. There is a brown patina and green encrustation. Together with a small doe-form yoke ornament, 5th-4th century BC, southwestern Inner Mongolia, northwest China, the deer has a long neck, pricked ears and relief-cast oval eyes. The front and back hoofs are joined by slender bars.
4¾ and 3 3/8 in. (12.2 and 8.5 cm.) long, one wood stand (2)

Provenance

Plaque: Christie's London, 11 June 1990, lot 40.
Ornament: acquired in New York, 1993.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The plaque is quite similar to one illustrated by Emma C. Bunker, Ancient Bronzes of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1997, p. 265, no. 231b, and another, no. 231, which has a third, frontal ibex in the center. This central ibex was not included in plaque no. 231b, but its "bodyless horns" are entwined with the leafy branches. The remains of a hook on the present plaque indicate that it would have been the left-hand half of a complete buckle.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All