A CHINESE BRONZE 'ANIMAL COMBAT' PLAQUE
西漢 滇文化 銅獸紋牌飾

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REFERENCE:

A similar example is illustrated by Jessica Rawson in 'The Chinese Bronzes of Yunnan', 1983, p. 193, pl. 226. TzeHuey Chiou-Peng includes an illustration of a bronze openwork plaque with animals in combat, based on Yunnansheng Wenwu Kaogu Yanjiusuo et al. 2005, vol. 1: 75, in 'Dian Bronze Art: Its Source and Formation'.

NOTE:

Dian was an ancient kingdom established by the Dian people, a non-Han metalworking civilization that inhabited around the Dian Lake plateau of central northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn period (770 - 481 B.C.E) until the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 C.E). The Dian people were skilled metalworkers, casting both in bronze and iron utilising the piece mould method and the lost wax method, and created complex compositions that give insight into their culture. Works created include bronze plaques and 3D figures surmounting lids and vessels, all of which depict scenes of feline creatures hunting oxen, human figures engaging in hunting, dancing, farming and weaving.