Lot 1059. The Max N. Berry Collections. A rare bronze two-part tiger-form belt buckle with loose ring suspension chains, 6th-5th century BC; 68 cm long, composite stand. Price realised USD 24,320 (Estimate USD 7,000 – USD 10,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 25 February 1999, no. 2568.
 

Note : It is extremely rare to find a two-part belt hook of this type with double chains of this length surviving intact. Two similar double-belt buckles also with double felines, one with the pair of felines shown in the same biting-serpent pose, lacking the linked chains, and the other pair with heads turned back to confront one another over their shoulders, with one of the double chains left almost intact, both from the Therese and Erwin Harris Collection, are illustrated by E. Bunker and J. So in Traders and Raiders: on China's Northern Frontier, Seattle, 1995, pp.174-76, nos. 101 and 102. A similar belt buckle in the form of a pair of felines linked by their tails, but lacking the chains is illustrated, in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl.230.

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