Lot Essay
These fittings are unusual in that they are made from silver rather than the more usual bronze or gilt bronze.
.jpg?w=1)
EASTERN HAN-SIX DYNASTIES PERIOD, 3RD-4TH CENTURY AD
Details
A PAIR OF SILVER TAOTIE-MASK HANDLES
EASTERN HAN-SIX DYNASTIES PERIOD, 3RD-4TH CENTURY AD
Each mask is cast as a powerful taotie with thick brows, curved horns, and a pronounced nose above bared teeth from which issues a hook that suspends a loose ring.
Each 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) wide; weight 48.5 g each
EASTERN HAN-SIX DYNASTIES PERIOD, 3RD-4TH CENTURY AD
Each mask is cast as a powerful taotie with thick brows, curved horns, and a pronounced nose above bared teeth from which issues a hook that suspends a loose ring.
Each 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) wide; weight 48.5 g each
Provenance
Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK83.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 27.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 27.
Literature
Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, cat. no. 83.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection. The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 86.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection. The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 86.
Exhibited
Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1954-55, cat. no. 83.