A CHINESE INLAID GILT-BRONZE 'DRAGON' FITTING
漢 銅鎏金龍首

A CHINESE INLAID GILT-BRONZE 'DRAGON' FITTING

Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E – 220 C.E)

漢 銅鎏金龍首

The cylindrical fitting formed as a dragon's head, with almond-shaped jet-inlaid eyes below incised brows terminating in teardrop-shaped ears, a pair of slender horns surmounting the brow, the long tapering snout divided into three curved sections and leading to a curled nose, the opposite end of the fitting forming a circular aperture framed by an incised chevron band,

19.6cm long, weight approx. 825g

-

-

REFERENCE:

A similar terminal, also dated to the Han Dynasty but with more elaborate facial features, was sold at Sotheby's London, 13th May 2009, lot 56. Another was sold at Christie's New York, 21st March 2000, lot 185. A related fitting, with a similar slender face but with mouth open and gently curved neck, was sold at Christie's New York, 14th September 2018, lot 1120.

A related gilt-bronze chariot fitting, dated to the Western Han Dynasty, was sold at Christie's New York, 25th March 2022, lot 730. A related 'mythical beast' ferrule of similar form, although dated earlier and being inlaid with gold and silver, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 479.

A related terminal was excavated from the Han tomb no. 2 at Ganguan in Hanjiang, Jiangsu Province, and is illustrated in Wenwu, 1981, vol. 11, pl. 1, fig. 5. Similar dragon head-form handles with open mouths is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and is illustrated by James C.Y. Watt in 'The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum Bulletin', Summer 1990, pl. 49.