A BRONZE OPENWORK BELT HOOK

CIRCA 5TH-3RD CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE OPENWORK BELT HOOK
CIRCA 5TH-3RD CENTURY BC
The rectangular belt hook is cast in openwork with a fleeing stag being attacked from behind by a wolf, a hook is at one end and a circular button is on the reverse. There is malachite encrustation on both sides.
5 ¼ in. (13.5 cm.) wide, box

Provenance

The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida, 1990.

Lot Essay

Compare the larger (8 in. long) bronze openwork belt hook of this type, ascribed to Northwest China, 3rd century BC, illustrated by E. C. Bunker et al., Nomadic Art of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2002, p. 148, no. 124, where the similarly-shaped outer border encloses an openwork scene of a wolf attacking a dzo.

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