A rare pair of gilt-bronze rectangular belt plaques, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8)
Lot 913. A rare pair of gilt-bronze rectangular belt plaques, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8). Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 9,375. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.
Each plaque is cast in openwork with two tortoises encircled by the twisted body of a dragon with an open mouth, and each has two vertical attachment loops on the reverse. 3 3/8 in. (8.7 cm.) long.
Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong prior to 1989.
Note: A similar gilt-bronze 'tortoises and dragon' belt plaque from the Calon da Collection is illustrated by J. F. So and E. C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China’s Northern Frontier, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1995, p. 158, no. 80. Compare, also, a pair of gold belt plaques with almost identical decoration, from the Dayunshan, Jiangsu province, illustrated in Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, May-June 2017, p. 130, no. 23.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York