Lot 566. A rare double scabbard and knives, Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 10th-14th century; 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm.) long; weight 76 g. Estimate USD 80,000 - USD 120,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2019.

The handles of the iron knives are embellished with finely chased gold sheet decorated with foliate scrolls and inlaid with small turquoise cabochons. Both scabbards are of slightly different length and attached to each other on one side. Each is made of wood and reinforced with gold and silver sheets decorated with birds and beasts amidst foliate scrolls chased on a dense ring-matted ground and inlaid with small turquoise cabochons.  

Provenance: C. T. Loo & Co., New York, before 1941. 
Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK36.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 78.  

Literature: C. T. Loo & Co., Exhibition of Chinese Arts, New York, 1 November 1941-30 April 1942, no. 202. 
Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, cat. no. 36.
Bo Gyllensvärd, ‘T’ang Gold and Silver’, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, No. 29, Stockholm, 1957, pl. 1a, figs. 8a, 55d, 55g, 77p, 87r.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 34. 

Exhibited: New York, C. T. Loo & Co., Exhibition of Chinese Arts, 1 November 1941-30 April 1942, no. 202. 
Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1954-55, cat. no. 36.

Note: No other double scabbard with knives appears to have been published. Referring to the present double scabbard and knives, Bo Gyllensvärd in 'T'ang Gold and Silver', B.M.F.E.A., No. 29, Stockholm, 1957, states, p. 45, that the shape of the scabbards and their joined configuration "is mainly the same as during" the Han dynasty, and illustrates, fig. 8:b, a line drawing of such a double scabbard found at Lo-lang. Compare, also, a similar silver double scabbard excavated from Qiujiawan in Shimen County and dated to the Yuan dynasty, illustrated in Yang Zhishi et al., Hunan Song Yuan jiaocang jin yin qi fa xian yu yan jiu (The Discovery and Research on Gold and Silver Wares Unearthed from Caches of Song and Yuan Dynasties in Hunan), Beijing, 2009, pp. 196-7, pl. 394. 

As early as the Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BC) blades for swords and knives were being made in iron as well as bronze. The scabbards might be made of leather, wood, metal, or lacquered wood, and usually had a protective metal fitting at the bottom of the scabbard, the chape, which protected the scabbard's lower edges. By the late Warring States and Western Han periods, jade became the preferred material for use as a chape, though ones of gold, silver and bronze occasionally still appeared. The construction of this double scabbard is a continuation of those traditions, with the scabbards carved from wood and reinforced with decorative gold and silver mounts. The extensive gold mounts that cover and protect the lower section of the scabbards have a curved bottom thereby functioning as a chape.

 Lot 586. A rare silver ewer and cover, Song-Yuan dynasty (960-1368); 4 ¾ in. (12.2 cm.) high; weight 192 g. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2019.

The bud or melon-shaped body is raised on a low foot ring and applied with a fluted handle and a curved spout. The cover is chased with narrow, overlapping petals that radiate from the base of the bud-shaped knob to the scalloped edge of the everted rim.

Provenance: Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK137.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 108.

Literature: Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, cat. no. 137.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999.

Exhibited: Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1954-55, cat. no. 137.

Note: The shape of this silver ewer can be seen in various ceramic wares as early as the 10th century. A stoneware ewer of this shape (18.1 cm. high), described as being of elongated melon shape, also with a curved spout and strap handle, as well as a cover, but raised on a flat base, dated 10th-12th century, in the Falk Collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 20 September 2001, lot 32. Another stoneware ewer (15 cm. high) of this shape, covered with a transparent, creamy glaze, is illustrated by Bo Gyllensvärd in Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, p. 154, pl. 493. Like the present silver ewer, it is raised on a low foot and has a cover, but the body is lobed and the diagonally set spout is short.

Lot 601. A rare silver peach-form cup, Song-Yuan dynasty (960-1368); 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) wide; weight 70.3 g. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2019.

The cup is shaped as a half-peach borne on a leafy branch that forms the handle. The sides are finely engraved with blossoming and fruiting branches that continue under the base, all against a fine ring-matted ground.

Provenance: Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK152.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 115.

Literature: Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, cat. no. 152.
Bo Gyllensvärd, ‘A Botanical Excursion in the Kempe Collection', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, No. 37, Stockholm, 1965, pl. 16b.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 153.

Exhibited: Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1954-55, cat. no. 152.
London, Arts Council Gallery, The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, 1958, cat. no. 283.
New York, Asia House Gallery, Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, 1971, cat. no. 68, an exhibition touring the United States and shown also at nine other museums.

Note: A silver cup of peach form and Song-dynasty date, excavated in 1981 at Liyang county, Jiangsu province, is illustrated by Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, p. 184, pl. 457, as well as in a sketch of six silver cups of different shapes from the excavation, p. 183, pl. 455 (middle). One of a set of six silver peach-shaped cups recovered from a hoard in Hunan province, dated to the Ming dynasty, is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, gongyi meishu bian, vol. 10, Beijing, 1987, p. 91, pl. 175. As with the present cup, the handle and leaves of these cups have been soldered to the body, and the leaves have chased or engraved veins. Peach-shaped cups were also made in other materials during the Song and Ming periods, including in Longquan celadon, such as the cup or washer, illustrated in Longquan qingci yanjiu, Beijing, 1989, pl. 42:4.