Lot 108
  • 108

A RARE PAIR OF ARCHAIC BRONZE 'TAOTIE' FITTINGS LATE SHANG / WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY |

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
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Description

  • Width 1 7/8  in., 4.8 cm
each crisply cast in the form of a mask with recessed lines defining the details, the two protruding eyes flanked by a pair of pointed ears, the wide jaw flanked by hooked fangs and centered by a curved snout, all surmounted by a pair of capped horns, the back set with a horizontal bar for attachment, the surface with malachite encrustation, wood stands (4)

Provenance

Nagatani, Inc., Chicago, 5th December 1955.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 

Condition

Both fittings are in overall good condition with age-appropriate wear.
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

Although the exact function of the present pair of mask-form fittings is unknown, recent excavations suggest this type of fitting may have been used as horse ornaments. See a related mask of slightly larger size, cast with hooked horns and inlaid with turquoise, set to the back with crossed bars for attachment, excavated at an Yinxu period site together with a pair of horse skeletons and a group of bronze harness ornaments. These findings were discovered in the horse pit no. 2017 at Xibeigang, Anyang, Henan province, and included in the exhibition King Wu Ding and Lady Hao. Art and Culture of the Late Shang Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2012, cat. no. IV-1. A closely related taotie mask fitting of a very similar size, reported to have come from Anyang, Henan province, from the collection of Crown Prince Gustaf VI. Adolf, is published in Nils Palmgren, ed., Selected Chinese Antiquities from the Collection of Gustaf Adolf Crown Prince of Sweden, Stockholm, 1948, pl. 8, no. 1. A pair of related masks of slightly larger size, cast with hooked horns, similarly set to the back with a horizontal bar for attachment, attributed to the Zhou dynasty, from the H.K. Burnet Collection, was sold twice in our London rooms, first 4th April 1941, lot 381, and then 29th March 1977, lot 32. Compare also a larger bronze mask, modeled in the form of a feline head with ruyi-shaped ears, of the Western Zhou dynasty, sold in our London rooms, 6th June 1995, lot 4; a pair from the Rutherston Collection, sold in our London rooms, 26th June 1973, lot 1; another formerly in the Hardt Collection and Frederick M. Mayer Collection, sold in our London rooms, 15th April 1980, lot 33; a further one sold in our London rooms, 19th June 1984, lot 30; and lastly, one sold in our London rooms, 29th February 1972, lot 115.