Lot 420. Three gilt-bronze and blue-glass-inlaid bear supports, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 1 7/16in (3.5 cm) high. Estimate US$ 1,200 - 1,500. Sold for US$ 6,120 (€ 5,033). Courtesy Bonhams.

Each cast seated with left forepaw resting on the folded left hindleg and the right forepaw raised to the side of the head, some incised fur-markings around the heads, the eyes and umbilicus inset with blue glass.

Property from the Estate of Robert P. Youngman.

Note: Other Han dynasty gilt-bronze bears in differing sizes with provision for inlays, are illustrated by Helmut Brinker, Bronzen aus dem alten China, Zurich, 1975, p. 153, no. 125 in the Rietberg Museum and in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, no. 256

See also a slightly larger example of differing configuration illustrated by J.J.Lally & Co., Ancient Chinese Bronzes, March-April 2011, no. 18.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese and Japanese Works of Art Part II, 14 Dec 2020, Los Angeles