Lot 3016. A large bronze figure of a horse, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); h. 60 cm, w. 44 cm, with 4 X-rays. Lot sold: 945,000 HKD (Estimate: 150,000 - 250,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Wong and Sons Art Gallery, New York, 1993.

Note: Large bronze figures of horses were particularly difficult to produce in a single mould, therefore craftsmen would have to cast the pieces separately and assemble them to form the horse. The labour and material costs would have been tremendous, indicating the immense wealth possessed by provincial landowners and officials. See a related massive bronze horse, formerly in the collection of Bruce Dayton and Ruth Stricker Dayton, now preserved in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. 2002.45.

Celestial Horse, 25-220. Bronze with traces of polychrome, 113.98 x 87.63 x 36.83 cm. Minneapolis Institute of Art. Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, 2002.45.

Lot 3021. Two gilt-bronze 'tiger and ram' corner brackets, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); each side 15 cm. Lot sold: 113,400 HKD (Estimate: 80,000 - 120,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Sze Yuan Tang Collection, 1980s.
Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 487 (part lot, HK$187,500).

Lot 3022. Two gilt-bronze 'tiger' corner brackets, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); each side 13.5 cm. Lot sold: 37,800 HKD (Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Sze Yuan Tang Collection, 1980s.
Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 487 (part lot, HK$187,500).

Lot 3026. A bronze 'dragons' oil lamp Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 15.6 cm. Lot sold: 81,900 HKD (Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (1929-2014), New York, coll. no. B1560.
Offered at Sotheby's New York, 19th March 2002, lot 128.

Note: A similar bronze lamp was excavated from a Western Han dynasty tomb at Bicun, Hunyuan county, Shanxi province, illustrated in Wenwu, Beijing, 1980, no. 6, pl. 5, fig. 1. 

Lot 3027. A rare bronze model of an ox cart, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); overall w. 90 cm, ox w. 37 cm, cart w. 72 cm, with 5 X-rays. Lot sold: 378,000 HKD (Estimate: 80,000 - 120,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Wong and Sons Art Gallery, New York, 1993.

Lot 3029. A rare bronze 'bird' hanging oil lamp, Han - Six Dynasties; oil lamp h. 32.8 cm, overall h. 63.5 cm, with 2 X-rays and Japanese wood box. Lot sold: 214,200 HKD (Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Acquired in Japan, 1990s.

Lot 3035. A group of 13 gold and hardstone-inlaid bronze chariot harness fittings, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); 2.7 to 18 cm. Lot sold: 239,400 HKD (Estimate: 60,000 - 80,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

including a horse frontlet (danglu 當顱), a pair of S-shaped cheek-pieces (biao 鑣) for a bridle, two snaffles (xian 銜) each with a twist-fluted shaft to be held in the horse’s teeth, three oval harness ornaments (銅泡), and five rings (環).

Provenance: Sze Yuan Tang Collection, 1980s-90s.
Bonhams London, 9th November 2017, lot 6 (£10,625).

Note: Similar chariot fittings inlaid with turquoise and agate were discovered in the tomb of Prince Liu Sheng (d. 113 BC) at Mancheng, Heibei province, and illustrated in the excavation report, Mancheng Hanmu Fajue Baogao [Excavation of the Han Tombs at Mancheng], vol. 2, Beijing, 1980, figs 124, 125, 129, 133, 139, 141, 143, 223 and 228.

Lot 3037. A silver-inlaid bronze drinking vessel, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); h. 14.8 cm. Lot sold: 189,000 HKD (Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Sze Yuan Tang Collection, 1980s.
Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 494 (part lot, HK$50,000).

Lot 3039. A pair of gilt-bronze 'tiger' chariot yoke fittings, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); 8.5 cm. Lot sold: 44,100 HKD (Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Acquired in Japan, 1990s.

Note: Excavations have revealed that these intriguing fittings are chariot ornaments once used to crown the curved ends of the yoke that was fitted around the horse's neck. Similar 'tiger' fittings, either gilt-bronze or gilt-and-silvered bronze, were excavated in the Han Tombs of Mancheng, Heibei province. See the excavation report, Mancheng Hanmu Fajue Baogao [Excavation of the Han Tombs at Mancheng], vol. 1, Beijing, 1980, p. 322-3, fig. 219-1 for illustration and fig. 215 for a reconstructed diagram showing where these fittings were originally placed. A similar example was included in the exhibition Inlaid Bronze and Related Material from Pre-Tang China, Eskenazi, London, 1991, cat. no. 23.

Lot 3042. A massive inscribed bronze 'fish' basin, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 38 cm. Lot sold: 119,700 HKD (Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

the interior cast with a three-character inscription reading Yi Shou Wang.

Note: See a slightly smaller example, cast with coin and fish motifs to the interior, sold at Christie's New York, 2nd April 2009, lot 212.

Lot 3044. A rare bronze 'goose' wine vessel, Hu, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); h. 40 cm, with 2 X-rays. Lot sold: 201,600 HKD (Estimate: 60,000 - 80,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Mandala Fine Arts, Hong Kong.

Lot 3046. A set of four bronze 'frog' mat weights, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); 7.5 cm. Lot sold: 69,300 HKD (Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Mandala Fine Arts, Hong Kong, 1999.

Note: Compare a similar set of paperweights from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 541.

Lot 3047. An unusual gold and silver-inlaid bronze tripod stand, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 12 cm. Lot sold: 69,300 HKD (Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Note: A cylindrical vessel with a similar gold and silver-inlaid tripod ring and matching rim band from the Swedish Royal Collection was exhibited at the Stockholm Exhibition of Early Chinese Bronzes, B.M.F.E.A., Stockholm, 1933, fig. 2. Another silver-inlaid tripod stand from the Cull Collection is illustrated in Walter Perceval Yetts, The Cull Chinese Bronzes, London, 1939, pl. XIX, no. 15. See also a silver-inlaid example sold in our New York rooms, 4th December 1984, lot 24.

Lot 3050. A rare bronze 'dragon' wine vessel, Hu, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); h. 48.5 cm, with 2 X-rays. Lot sold: 693,000 HKD (Estimate: 80,000 - 120,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Hartman Rare Art, New York.

Lot 3056. A bronze 'bird' belt buckle, Dian culture, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 12.5 and 13.2 cm. Lot sold: 25,200 HKD (Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Mandala Fine Arts, Hong Kong, 1999.

Lot 3062. A pair of silver-inlaid bronze 'bird' chariot fittings, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); 24.5 cm. Lot sold: 352,800 HKD (Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Sze Yuan Tang Collection, 1980s.
Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 494 (part lot, HK$50,000).

Lot 3068. A bronze food steamer, Yan, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9); h. 23.8 cm, w. 13 cm, with 1 X-ray. Lot sold: 94,500 HKD (Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Mandala Fine Arts, Hong Kong.

Lot 3071. Two large silver-inlaid bronze rims, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 21.5 and 21.7 cm. Lot sold: 52,920 HKD (Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Note: These rims were likely made for a lacquer incense burner (lian); see a Western Han example of lian mounted with bronze rims in this sale lot 3057; and similar rims sold at Christie's London, 13th November 2001, lot 55.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art Online: A Private Asian Collection, Hong Kong, 28 July 2022.