A SILVER-INLAID BRONZE BIRD-FORM FINIAL WARRING STATES PERIOD - HAN DYNASTY |

modeled in the form of a perching bird, rendered with its head looking backward, with fine silver inlay defining its sharp beak, rounded eyes, pointed ears, curled wings, and long feathery tail, the surface with malachite encrustation, the interior hollow for attachment

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

There is an approx. 1 cm deep scratch to the domed back of the bird with associated minor losses to the inlay; otherwise, the finial is in overall good condition with minor wear to the surface and inlay, consistent with age.
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.

Finials of this type, with a hollow interior may have been used to surmount the shafts of bronze ge. See an illustrated 5th-4th century BC example of a related bird-shaped finial of less elaborate form and design, attached to the top of a bronze halberd, published in Jessica Rawson, Ancient China. Art and Archaeology, London, 1980, pl. 105-d. Compare a similar example with gold and silver inlay, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gifted by Ernest Erickson Foundation in 1985, published in Maxwell K. Hearn, Ancient Chinese Art. The Ernest Erickson Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1987, pl. 53; and another silver-inlaid finial, exhibited in Chūgoku no bijutsu, hitori no me : tokubetsu tenji [The art of China: One man's eye], Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, 1984, cat. no. 36. Another related finial of this type, from the collection of King Gustaf VI Adolf, was exhibited in Chinese Art from the Collection of H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, 1967, cat. no. 23; and a further silver-inlaid finial, from the Avery Brundage Collection, is now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, acc. no. B60B816. For Han dynasty examples, see a gold and silver inlaid bronze finial, formally in the collection of Henry J. Oppenheim, now in the British Museum, London, acc. no. 1947,0712.380; and another, also in the British Museum, published in Orvar Karlbeck, 'Selected Objects from Ancient Shou-Chou', The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities Bulletin, no. 27, Stockholm, 1955, pl. 14, fig. 11.