Lot 17. A pair of archaic bronze openwork 'eagle, tiger and ram' plaques, Ordos, circa 2nd-1st century BC; 12.3cm (4 7/8in) wide x 7.3cm (2 7/8in) high. (2). Sold for 2,167.50 € (Estimate 400-600 €). Photo Fabrice Gousset.

Each cast with reticulated designs of a raptor and a tiger attacking a ram, the bird vividly portrayed wildly flapping its wings and tail, the tiger biting the neck of the ram and fitted with two small hoops for suspension on its back.

Provenance: Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981).
Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021).

Note: Compare with a related pair of Ordos bronze buckle plaques, 2nd half of the 1st century BC, illustrated by P.Pelliot, 'Quelques réflexions sur l'art sibérien et l'art chinois, à propos de bronzes de la collection David-Weill' in Documents, vol.1, 1 April 1929, p.13, and later sold at Sotheby's New York, 7 June 2007, lot 89. See also a related Ordos bronze animal belt plaque, 4th century BC, which was sold at Bonhams London, 5 July 2018, lot 161. See also a related bronze plaque, Ordos, 2nd century BC, with a raptor attacking a goat, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (acc.no.2002.201.126).

Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris. The Robert and Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting - Part 1. Paris, 25 october 2022