Chine, Bronzes /Chinese Bronzes

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'... [Lire la suite]

Lot 902. A malachite-inlaid bronze halbert blade, Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm.) long. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 The blade is cast with a median ridge and with a hafting hole, and is decorated on both sides of the pierced nei with kui dragons filled with malachite inlay. The bronze has malachite encrustation, wood stand, fitted Japanese wood box.  Provenance: In Japan prior to 1973. Note: Two late... [Lire la suite]

Lot 901. A bronze ritual wine vessel, gui, Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, 10 ¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 27,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 The trumpet-shaped neck is flat-cast with four upright blades rising from a band of leiwen pattern, and the middle section and spreading foot with taotie masks divided and separated by narrow notched flanges, those on the foot below a band of kui dragons, all on... [Lire la suite]

Bronze Buckle Ornament Inlaid with Malachite, Dian Kingdom, South West China, 2nd-1st century B.C.E. Bronze and malachite, D. 16.2 cm. © Miho Museum. These two circular ornaments have excavated counterparts among the burial goods belonging to the local agro-pastoral peoples of the Dian Kingdom, who, during the late Eastern Zhou and Western Han periods, lived on the southwestern periphery of dynastic China in the vicinity of Lake Dian near Kunming in Yunnan province. Sima Qian, the grand historian of China... [Lire la suite]

Chinese Bronze Round Lid with Inlay, Late Eastern Zhou Dynasty, late 4th-3rd century B.C.E. Bronze with silver and gold foil inlay, D. 13 cm. © Miho Museum. The size of this roundel, the height of its sides, and the trench around the edge on the underside suggest that it may have been the lid of a lacquered wooden vessel, now disintegrated. The trench contains crusty black material, probably the remains of black lacquer. Four rectangular cavities distributed regularly around the vertical edge each hold the remains of... [Lire la suite]

Northern Chinese Bronze Belt Buckle with Gold and Silver Inlay, 3rd-2nd century B.C.E. Bronze, gold, and silver, L. 14.5 cm. © Miho Museum. The major northern pastoral peoples contemporary with the Han empire were the Xiongnu, who by the end of the third century B.C. had formed a vast empire in the steppes beyond the Great Wall.1 These plaques represent one of the major types of belt ornament produced during the height of Xiongnu power. The two mirror-image plaques, number 110, together form one belt buckle. The... [Lire la suite]

Chinese Recumbent Ox with Inlay, Late Eastern Zhou Dynasty, 4th-3rd century B.C.E. Bronze with silver inlay, L. 15 cm. © Miho Museum. (One of a pair pictured) These two recumbent oxen, with all four legs folded, show mirror-image symmetry both in their forms and surface patterns. The surfaces are decorated with cloud-like bird motifs of silver inlay. The heads of birds can be seen around the shoulders and rumps of both oxen. Small circular motifs, line motifs, and grain motifs are executed from the hips to the... [Lire la suite]

Chinese Incense Burner in the Form of a Tortoise with Gold and Silver Inlay, Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). Bronze, gold, and silver, L. 11 cm. © Miho Museum. This bronze tortoise appears to stop for a moment, taking a break from a slow walk, with the right legs pulled back and the left legs pushed forward, and with the head lifted up to the left. The tail is directed to the upper right. The openworked shell is removable, like a lid, and a hole is made at a side of the center ridge, where the center of gravity of the lid is... [Lire la suite]

Brûle-encens tripode bluish green glaze and purple splashes, dynastie Yuan (1279-1368). Céramique à glaçure colorée. H: 9 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B017887N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM

Bol monochrome, 13e siècle, dynastie Yuan (1279-1368). Céramique à glaçure colorée. H: 8 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B017223N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM