AN ORDOS OPENWORK GOLD-SHEET FITTING EASTERN ZHOU

the thin gold sheet cut into a rectangular form and partly embellished in openwork with a pair of confronting deer flanking a central column composed of three wheels stacked on top of each other, some parts of the openwork design rendered in repousse, glass frame

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 31.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 31.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 29.

The sheet probably originally executed in repousse technique but not almost flat and slightly dented.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This unusual fitting is comparable to a number of similarly shaped cast gold and bronze plaques associated with Ordos sites excavated in Inner Mongolia and Siberia and ranging in date from tthe Warring States period to the Western Han dynasty, illustrated in Erduosi shi qingtong qi, Beijing, 1986, p. 79, fig. 46:1 and 2, pl. 60:1. They commonly depict confronting pairs of stags, rams, camels and ox, reflecting the iconographic repertoire and style of the nomadic and pastural cultures along the present-day northern Chinese frontiers, ibid., pp. 76-80, figs. 44-47. Another example cast in gold but dated to the Eastern Han is illustrated in Simon Kwan and Sun Ji, Chinese Gold Ornaments, Hong Kong, 2003, cat. no. 128.