Lot 9. A gilt-bronze belt hook, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). Length 3 5/8  in., 9.2 cm. Estimate 1,000 — 2,000 USD. Lot sold 1,250 USD. © Sotheby's.

cast in relief as an animal mask resembling a tiger, with feline features and hollowed spaces for inlaid eyes, a tapering chilong-headed hook rising from the top of its head, the concave underside with a circular button, Japanese wood box (4).

Provenance: Kitayama Fine Arts, Tokyo, acquired in the 1970s.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York, 19 march 2013