A GOLD 'TIGER AND DEER' PLAQUE 5TH - 3RD CENTURY BC |

the gold sheet worked in repoussé with a tiger grasping a deer in its jaws, the tiger standing foursquare, its stripes hammered in high relief and the fur neatly incised, the deer suspended by its neck, the body hanging limp and framed by the side and lower borders of the plaque, the spaces between the animals' limbs cut away

Collection of Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939).
Collection of Alfred William Cowperthwaite (1890-1964), acquired circa 1939, and thence by descent.

The plaque is in overall good condition with only minor dents, commensurate with age and material.
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.

A number of late Warring States period gold openwork and repoussé plaques featuring a tiger and its prey have been excavated, including one unearthed at Tianzi, Liangchengdun County, Inner Mongolia, and now in the collection of the Inner Mongolia Museum, Huhehaote, published in Zhongguo meishu quanji: Gongyi meishu bian 5, Qingtongqi, xia [Complete Series on Chinese Art: Arts and Crafts, vol. 5, Bronzes, Pt. 2], Beijing, 1986, pl. 164; and another of the same date and in the same collection, published in Zhang Jingming Zhongguo beifang caoyuan gudai jinyinqi [Ancient Gold and Silver Works from China's Northern Steppe], Beijing, 2005, pl. 26. See also a contemporaneous bronze example from the A. Stoclet Collection, Brussels, published in Sueji Umehara, Shina-kodo seikwa / Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America, vol. 2, Osaka, 1933, pl. 127a.

Harry Geoffrey Beasley was a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (England) and founded the Cranmore Ethnographical Museum.