Lot 39. A small turquoise-inlaid gold applique, Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). Estimate 1,500 — 2,000 GBP. Lot sold 26,900 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's 2008

cut out of thin gold sheet and finely embellished with granular work depicting an immortal sitting astride a ferocious beast against a plain gold background, the eye of the beast inlaid with turquoise, 3.3cm., 1 3/8 in. WEIGHT 2g., together with a small openwork gold plaque similarly decorated with a central figure framed by the four directional creatures in a square frame, late Eastern Han Dynasty; a small openwork plaque with granulation depicting an immortal riding on a winged dragon surrounded by scrolls, late Eastern Han Dynasty; an openwork gold plaque with a series of symmetrical scrolls and volutes suggesting a cicada with remains of silver and turquoise inlays, late Eastern Han Dynasty/Six Dynasties Period, all in individual glass frames. Quantity: 4.

Exhibited: Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 20.

Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 10, an exhibition touring the United States and shown also at nine other museums.

Literature: Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 20.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 20.

Note: For two closely related pieces attributed to the Jin dynasty and decorated with mirror images of immortals riding on a beast and rendered in fine granulations set within cloisons, see Simon Kwan and Sun Ji, Chinese Gold Ornaments, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 151; they are believed to have been part of more elaborate hat or garment ornaments composed of one or more small appliques which may have included similar pieces to the other three in this present lot. Compare ibid., pls. 141-150.

Sotheby's. Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork, Early Gold and Silver; Early Chinese White, Green and Black Wares, London, 14 May 2008