A CHINESE BRONZE 'BOAR HUNT' PLAQUE
西漢 滇文化 銅獵彘紋牌飾

A CHINESE BRONZE 'BOAR HUNT' PLAQUE

Dian Culture, Western Han Dynasty (2nd – 1st Century B.C.E)

西漢 滇文化 銅獵彘紋牌飾

The openwork plaque cast to depict a large boar clutching a hunter in its jaws as another grabs on to its hind, both figures dressed in the distinctive tunics and head coverings of the Dian culture, together with two dogs, all stood atop a base formed as a long curved serpent,

17.5cm long, weight approx. 339g

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PROVENANCE:

REFERENCE:

See 'The Chinese Bronzes of Yunnan', 1983, p. 213, pl 247, for a related example. Also see a related belt plaque of a solo boar from northwest China, dated to 3rd – 2nd century B.C.E, housed in the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 2002.201.90.

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.

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