Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork, Early Gold and Silver; Early Chinese White, Green and Black Wares

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Lot 88
  • 88

A FINE PAIR OF GOLD HAIRPINS TANG DYNASTY

Estimate
3,000 - 4,000 GBP
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Description

each of U-shape cast with a solid ovoid, bridge-shaped head decorated with the outline of a stylised lotus flower formed by very fine twisted gold wire, the two prongs beaten into needle shape

Exhibited

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 51.

Literature

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 51.

Bo Gyllensvärd, 'T'ang Gold and Silver', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 29, 1957, fig. 13c.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 48.

Catalogue Note

Gold hairpins decorated with granulation and cloisons formed of finely twisted gold wire were popular in the Tang dynasty, see Simon Kwan and Sun Ji, Chinese Gold Ornaments, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 198-200. The bridge-shaped head also appears to be a feature of Tang dynasty hairpins, see Celestial Creations: Art of the Chinese Goldsmith. The Cheng Xun Tang Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. C03A-E.