Lot Essay
A slightly smaller (2 cm. diam.) button of this design is illustrated by Simon Kwan and Sun Ji, Chinese Gold Ornaments, Hong Kong, 2003, pp. 162-63, pl. 24.
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NORTHERN CHINA, 3RD CENTURY BC
Details
A SMALL CAST GOLD ORNAMENT
NORTHERN CHINA, 3RD CENTURY BC
The outline of the lobed, rosette-like ornament is formed by six raptor heads with raised eyes and long inward-pointing beaks. A squared loop is on the concave reverse.
1 in. (2.6 cm.) diam.; weight 22.9 g
NORTHERN CHINA, 3RD CENTURY BC
The outline of the lobed, rosette-like ornament is formed by six raptor heads with raised eyes and long inward-pointing beaks. A squared loop is on the concave reverse.
1 in. (2.6 cm.) diam.; weight 22.9 g
Provenance
Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK29.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 11.
Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 11.
Literature
Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, cat. no. 29.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 27.
Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 27.
Exhibited
Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1954-55, cat. no. 29.