- 240
A GILT-BRONZE TIGER-FORM WEIGHT HAN DYNASTY |
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Diameter 2 3/8 in., 6 cm
the feline cast in a tightly coiled pose with its head supported on its paw resting on its rump, its neck adorned with a collar, its face detailed with a broad snout below oval-shaped protruding eyes and large pointed ears, the details finely incised, all supported on a circular disc base
Provenance
Nagatani Inc., Chicago, 20th December 1950.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).
Condition
In overall good condition with expected age-appropriate wear to the surface and gilding. The underside with two chips to the lead infill and enhanced with malachite patina.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Compare a closely related bronze weight illustrated in Sun Ji, 'Han zhen yishu [The Art of Han Weights]', Wenwu, 1983, no. 6, p. 70, fig. 1, no. 3, where the author discusses the different types of weights and their uses; another, from the collection of Mrs. Nora Lundgren, included in the exhibition Mostra d'arte cinese [Exhibition of Chinese art], Venice, 1954, cat. no. 97, and published in Bo Gyllensvärd, 'Axel and Nora Lundgren's Bequest of Chinese Bronzes, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 49, Stockholm, 1977, pl. 14, fig. b.
See also a gilt-bronze weight of this type, but without the incised details, in the Idemitsu Collection, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Osaka, 1989, cat. no. 236; and another formerly in the Sakamoto Collection, illustrated in Hayashi Minao and Higuchi Takayasu, Fugendō Sakamoto Gorō Chūgoku seidōki seishō [Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Sakamoto Collection], Tokyo, 2002, cat. no. 297. For examples without the disc base, see a silver-inlaid bronze tiger-form weight illustrated in Chinesisches Gold und Silber. Die Sammling Pierre Uldry, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1994, cat. no. 86; and another exhibited in Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990, cat. no. 115.
See also a gilt-bronze weight of this type, but without the incised details, in the Idemitsu Collection, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Osaka, 1989, cat. no. 236; and another formerly in the Sakamoto Collection, illustrated in Hayashi Minao and Higuchi Takayasu, Fugendō Sakamoto Gorō Chūgoku seidōki seishō [Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Sakamoto Collection], Tokyo, 2002, cat. no. 297. For examples without the disc base, see a silver-inlaid bronze tiger-form weight illustrated in Chinesisches Gold und Silber. Die Sammling Pierre Uldry, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1994, cat. no. 86; and another exhibited in Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990, cat. no. 115.