Lot 2. A pair of gold phoenix hairpins, fengchai, Liao Dynasty; 13.3cm (5 1/4in) long. Sold for HK$ 31,875 (€ 3,368). © Bonhams

Each bird with uplifted wings and long tail plumage, standing on a flower-head platform issuing from a curving stem splitting into two prongs through a rolled leaf with indented detail.

Note: Some decorative designs on gold jewellery during the Song and Yuan dynasties were inspired by known paintings or embroidery work; see related discussion by Z.S.Yang, Shehuazhise: Song Yuan Ming jinyinqi yanjiu (The Study of Gold and Silver Wares in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties), Beijing, 2010, vol.1 p.92. Compare with a hairpin decorated with a long-tailed bird on a flower-head excavated from a Yuan tomb in Hunan Province, which is illustrated, ibid., p.93.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art. Introducing Beauty and Beyond: Women in Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 27 May 2021.