A RARE GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID IRON BELT HOOK EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, WARRING STATES PERIOD |

of tapered rectangular form, set to the top with a small silver recumbent beast in high relief and four alternating gold and silver plaques, each meticulously decorated in relief with a pair of writhing, interlocking dragons, all against a ground of paired triangular geometric scroll patterns, the underside with a circular button

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

The hook is missing, and there are losses to the lower section and to a section along the right edge, as visible in the catalogue illustration. Approx. 1/3 of the top section, a small section of the top right corner, and the silver plaque at the bottom have been reattached. Some expected wear and minor losses to the gold and silver inlay.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present belt hook is notable for its highly elaborate design and intricate metalworking techniques. The generous use of precious materials and the laborious workmanship necessary to make the complex decorations ensured that belt hooks of this type were reserved for the use of the nobility during the late Eastern Zhou dynasty. Compare two closely related belt hooks of this type, each also inset with jade plaques, excavated from Xinyang Chu tombs in Henan province, published in Henan Provincial Institute of Archaeology, ed., Xinyang Chumu [The Chu tombs in Xinyang], Beijing, 1986, pls 64 and 65; another illustrated in Max Loehr, Relics of Ancient China from the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer, New York, 1965, pl. 85-c; one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., illustrated in Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C., Washington, D.C., 1982, pl. 51; and a fifth included in the exhibition Early Chinese Metalwork in Gold and Silver: Works of Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Eskenazi, New York, 2011, cat. no. 1.