A RARE PAIR OF PARCEL-GILT SILVER 'FLORAL' HAIRPINS TANG DYNASTY |

each of thin silver sheet, composed of a double-pronged pin terminating in a broad leaf-shaped finial worked in mirror image, enclosing three large overlapping leaves engraved with flower sprays and foliate scrolls against a stipple ground, heightened with gilt detail, flanked by two reticulated stems issuing furled leaves and three-petal flowers (2)

Frank Caro, successor to C.T. Loo, New York, 5th June 1958.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

The pair of hairpins are in overall good condition with some expected wear and very minor bends to the thin leaf-shaped finials and pins, all consistent with age and type.
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.

Elegantly made in the shape of a thin leaf and enhanced by delicately pierced and engraved designs, Tang hairpins of this particular type are extremely rare. Only one other example appears to be recorded, a pair of parcel-gilt silver hairpins, in the Hakutsuru Museum, Kobe, published in Hakutsuru eiga : hakutsuru bijutsukan meihin zuroku [Selected masterpieces of Hakutsuru Museum], Kobe, 1978, pl. 35, and its line drawing is also illustrated in Bo Gyllensvärd, 'Tang Gold and Silver' The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities Bulletin, no. 29, Stockholm, 1957, fig. 51 b. Compare a related Tang gilt-silver hairpin with a reticulated design, similarly decorated with the three-petal leaves, excavated in Huijia village, Xi'an, Shanxi province in 1956, now in the Shaanxi provincial museum, Shaanxi province, published in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan. Jinyin yushi juan [Compendium of Chinese art. Gold, silver, jade, and stone], Hong Kong, 1994, no. 115. See a pair of related hairpins, pierced with a floral design, also in the Shaanxi History Museum, included in the exhibition, Gilded Dragons. Buried Treasures from China's Golden Ages, The British Museum, London, 1999, cat. no. 33.