.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Damascening is a refined decorative metalworking technique in which a soft metal, often gold or silver, is mechanically inlaid into a harder metal like iron or steel. In China, the process begins with meticulously chiseling a series of fine, parallel cross-hatched grooves into the iron substrate. Gold or silver wires or sheets, are then secured into the grooves through a combination of heating and burnishing, creating a smooth, flush-inlaid surface. The procedure is highly complex and demands exceptional skill from the artisan.
This form of damascening appears to have gained prominence in northern China by the late Yuan dynasty and was applied to horse trappings, ceremonial regalia, weapons, armour, and Buddhist ritual implements. It was also used on everyday objects such as locks, seals, and vessels. During the Yongle and Xuande reigns, imperial workshops produced exceptional objects—including swords, helmets, censers, and ritual bronzes—adorned with damascened gold and silver, which are often decorated with dragons, lotus motifs, or Sanskrit mantras—rendered in precise, flowing compositions.
Compare a similar lobed gold and silver damascened iron dish in the Shanghai Museum, dated to the Yuan dynasty, with its interior inlaid with silver floral motifs and the reverse inlaid with vajra and the Eight Auspicious Emblems. It was included in the exhibition Wonders of the World: China and Beyond in the Eyes of Marco Polo (fig. 1).
This form of damascening appears to have gained prominence in northern China by the late Yuan dynasty and was applied to horse trappings, ceremonial regalia, weapons, armour, and Buddhist ritual implements. It was also used on everyday objects such as locks, seals, and vessels. During the Yongle and Xuande reigns, imperial workshops produced exceptional objects—including swords, helmets, censers, and ritual bronzes—adorned with damascened gold and silver, which are often decorated with dragons, lotus motifs, or Sanskrit mantras—rendered in precise, flowing compositions.
Compare a similar lobed gold and silver damascened iron dish in the Shanghai Museum, dated to the Yuan dynasty, with its interior inlaid with silver floral motifs and the reverse inlaid with vajra and the Eight Auspicious Emblems. It was included in the exhibition Wonders of the World: China and Beyond in the Eyes of Marco Polo (fig. 1).