Lot 1053. A bronze taotie mask and ring handle, Northern Wei Dynasty, 4th-5th century; 27.6 cm high. Price realised USD 20,480 (Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 9,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: Walter Hochstadter (1914-2007), Adelaide, Australia, March 2001.
 

Literature: Kaikodo Journal, New York, Autumn 2001, pp. 224-5 and pp. 353-5, no. 70.
 

Exhibited: New York, Kaikodo, Worlds of Wonder, 15 September-15 October 2001.
 

Note: A similar mask from Leizumiao, Guyuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, and now in the Guyuan Museum, is illustrated by James C. Y. Watt et al., in China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD, New York, 2004, p. 164, no. 73, where it is dated Northern Wei dynasty, 5th century. The entry notes that the motif of a “human figure placed between the animals survives from an earlier period of Xianbei culture on the steppes.” See, also, the similar bronze mask sold at Christie's New York, 20-21 March 2014, lot 2041.

Christie's. Important Chinese Art Including Ceramics from the Art Institute of Chicago, New York, 17/18 September 2026