An embellished gold- and silver-inlaid bronze 'tiger' garment hook, Eastern Zhou dynasty | 東周 銅嵌寶錯金銀獸首帶鉤

Eskenazi Ltd, London, 10th July 1995.

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，1995年7月10日

Giuseppe Eskenazi in collaboration with Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand. The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012; Chinese version, Shanghai, 2015, reprint, 2017, pl. 64.

埃斯卡納齊，薛好佩整理，《中國藝術品經眼錄：埃斯卡納齊的回憶》，倫敦，2012年，中譯版，上海，2015年，2017年再版，圖版64

Bronze garment hooks first appeared in the Spring and Autumn period and enjoyed popularity from the end of the Warring States to the Han dynasty. They could be worn horizontally to fasten a belt or vertically to suspend other accessories such as pendants and daggers. Their outstanding quality, sometimes further enhanced by precious materials, underscores the status of their owners, highlighting their wealth or power. The present garment hook is remarkable for its impressive large head and the well-preserved condition of its inlays. 

Elaborate bronze hooks of this period were inspired by a huge variety of animals, from amiable birds and ferocious felines to mythical dragons, many of which appear to be individually conceived. Compare three other feline examples, but with ribbed horns and shorter muzzles: a gilt-bronze hook once decorated with inlays, in the British Museum, London, accession no. 1936,1118.127, published in Jessica Rawson, Ancient China: Art and Archaeology, London, 1980, col. pl. X rightmost; another gilt-bronze hook, also without inlays, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gifted by Mr and Mrs Eugene V. Thaw, accession no. 2002.201.169; and a bronze glass-inlaid one in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, accession no. S2012.9.2340. 

Although other known inlaid animal-form garment hooks exist, it is rare to find examples with precious inlays of comparable quality. A similar turquoise and glass embellished gilt-bronze hook was sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2006, lot 156. See also a bronze garment hook inlaid with an identical glass bead with multiple 'eyes' in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, accession no. S2012.9.1822.

Zoomorphic chariot yoke fittings of this period share many features with this type of garment hooks. A closely related gold- and silver-inlaid ornament, modelled as a feline head but with a more arced neck indicating its likely function as a chariot fitting, formerly in the collection of Adolphe Stoclet, is published in Georges A. Salles and Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Collection Adolphe Stoclet, Brussels, 1956, p. 345a. 

青銅帶鉤，應初製於春秋時期，戰國至漢代大興。横戴，可繫腰帶，豎用，宜於懸物，垂吊玉珮、匕首等。它們設計巧妙、裝飾華麗，更有嵌寶者，彰顯物主財富或權力。 

此帶鉤獸首比例碩大，精緻靈動，而且品相尤佳，誠難得之品。同代獸形帶鉤，取材自多種動物，如水鳥、猛虎、祥龍，形制雖異，各富巧思。此帶鉤所飾，應屬貓科，或虎。參考三例，同是貓科之屬，然頭上三角帶節，吻部較短：倫敦大英博物館藏鎏金銅帶鉤，無嵌寶，藏品編號1936,1118.127，收入羅森，《Ancient China: Art and Archaeology》，倫敦，1980年，彩圖版 X 右；紐約大都會藝術博物館藏另一鎏金銅例，同樣無嵌寶，Eugene V. Thaw 伉儷捐贈，藏品編號2002.201.169；華盛頓史密森尼學會賽克勒美術館也有一青銅例，嵌琉璃珠，藏品編號S2012.9.2340。

雖有其他嵌寶動物形帶鉤，但論精緻程度，難尋他例。有一鎏金銅嵌綠松石及琉璃珠帶鉤，2006年9月19日經紐約佳士得拍出，編號156。賽克勒美術館還有一青銅帶鉤，所嵌蜻蜓眼琉璃珠與此同式，藏品編號S2012.9.1822。

年代相若的獸形轅飾與帶鉤有不少共通點，如斯托克萊特舊藏錯金銀飾，同餘貓科獸首，然其頸項彎曲弧度較大，應乃轅飾，圖載於 Georges A. Salles 及 Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt，《Collection Adolphe Stoclet》，布魯賽爾，1956年，頁345a。