Lot 7. A small gilt-bronze lion, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). Height 1 1/4  in., 3.2 cm. Estimate 6,000 - 8,000 USD. Lot sold 18,750 USD. © Sotheby's.

the ferocious beast portrayed crouching with one paw raised, the mane framing its leonine face, the mouth open in a roar, and the bushy tail curved with some end tufts touching the body to form a loop, Japanese wood box (6).

Provenance: Hirano Kotoken, Tokyo, acquired in the 1970s.

Literature: Rikuchou Jidai No Kondoubutsu, Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Japan, 1991, cat. p.179, no.189

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York, 19 march 2013