Lot 12. A gilt-silver repoussé 'Phoenix' hairpin, Liao Dynasty; 15cm long. Sold for US$10,240 © Bonhams 2026

The hairpin surmounted by a finely modelled phoenix perched on a scrolling cloud platform, its head proudly raised above a feathered crest, the wings neatly folded back and pressed against the body, and the sweeping tail constructed of numerous gold sheets trailing to curling tips, the base extending to a pair of spreading prongs.

Note: During the Liao dynasty (907–1125), Khitan women enjoyed notably greater social standing than their counterparts in Song China, holding property, managing affairs and taking part in the hunt, and the phoenix accordingly adorned the personal ornaments of elite women as a mark of their rank. A Song dynasty painting in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. 故畫001248N000000017), offers a glimpse of the use of phoenix-headed hairpins during the Liao and Song periods, depicting a female figure wearing a similar ornament.

Compare a closely related gilded-silver phoenix hairpin, excavated from the Chifeng district, Inner Mongolia, illustrated in Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125), Asia Society, New York, 2006, pl. 29. Another gilt-silver crown ornament, from J. J. Lally & Co. in 1993, was sold in these rooms, 9 September 2019, lot 836.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, New York, 14 September 2026