Lot 25. A silver garment-hook, Warring States Period (475-221 BC), 9.8cm., 3 7/8 in. Estimate 3,000 — 4,000 GBP. Lot sold 3,750 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's

of slender curved form tapering to a small hook superbly cast in the shape of a bird's head, the body decorated with an engraved design of volutes and triangles. Weight 27.5g.

Exhibited: Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 79.

Literature: Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 79.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 82.

Sotheby's. Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork, Early Gold and Silver; Early Chinese White, Green and Black Wares, London, 14 May 2008