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Lot Essay
This rare incised silver dragon-head fitting represents an unusual Eastern Han variation on a form more commonly seen in gilt bronze during the earlier Han period. In their discussion of related examples in Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 202, J. Rawson and E. Bunker suggest that dragon-form fittings of this type may have been attached to lacquer vessels, to be grasped over and under the crown of the head, the beard serving as a brace for the little finger. Other examples, however, have been identified as finials or chariot fittings, indicating the versatility of the form and the broader functionality of such dragon fittings.
The present fitting may be compared with a gilt-bronze example from the Eastern Han tomb of Xianyu Huang, dated to AD 165, in Wuqing county, Hebei province; see Kaogu Xuebao, 1982, no. 3, pp. 351-66, pl. 19, fig. 2. Another closely related Han-dynasty handle, from tomb no. 2 at Ganguan, Hanjiang, Jiangsu province, is illustrated in Wenwu, 1981, no. 11, pl. 2, fig. 5. The present fitting can also be compared to the example lent by Charlotte C. and John C. Weber to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by J. Watt in “The Arts of Ancient China,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 1990, p. 40, no. 49. Watt observes that Han-dynasty representations of the dragon were strongly influenced by images of the “heavenly horse,” an auspicious motif during this period. A related gilt-bronze dragon-head fitting was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 4 June 1986, lot 258.
The present fitting may be compared with a gilt-bronze example from the Eastern Han tomb of Xianyu Huang, dated to AD 165, in Wuqing county, Hebei province; see Kaogu Xuebao, 1982, no. 3, pp. 351-66, pl. 19, fig. 2. Another closely related Han-dynasty handle, from tomb no. 2 at Ganguan, Hanjiang, Jiangsu province, is illustrated in Wenwu, 1981, no. 11, pl. 2, fig. 5. The present fitting can also be compared to the example lent by Charlotte C. and John C. Weber to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by J. Watt in “The Arts of Ancient China,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 1990, p. 40, no. 49. Watt observes that Han-dynasty representations of the dragon were strongly influenced by images of the “heavenly horse,” an auspicious motif during this period. A related gilt-bronze dragon-head fitting was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 4 June 1986, lot 258.