Lot Essay
Another mortuary bed dated to the first half of the 6th century A.D. is illustrated by Yamanaka and Co., Collection of Chinese and Other Far Eastern Art, New York, 1943, no. 365 and by Rene-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argence, Kodansha, The Avery Brundage Collections, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture, fig. 50. The Avery Brundage example compares well in that the form and borders are similar, the mythical beasts are within adjacent square frames however, not oval cartouches. Lefebvre-d'Argence mentions that the decorative motifs relate to a standard repertory found in the Buddhist cave temples of the Northern Wei period, and more specifically, the composite-beasts within the cartouches are of similar 'ferocious humor' and style as those on the Tombstone of Lady Yuan of the Northern Wei dynasty, dated 522 A.D. illustrated by Toshio Nagahiro, The Representional Art of the Six Dynasties Period, 1969, pls. 13-16.
Another related example was included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art Exhibition of Gems of Chinese Art from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1983, Catalgue, no. 96; and one in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, is illustrated in Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth, pl. 91
Another related example was included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art Exhibition of Gems of Chinese Art from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1983, Catalgue, no. 96; and one in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, is illustrated in Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth, pl. 91