西周早期 青銅獸面冠飾

la feuille de bronze partiellement ajourée, les yeux percés légèrement levés et l'arête du nez proéminent rythmée de trois petites entailles en forme de crochets, les narines représentées par deux petites virgules, les cornes massives en spirales ajourées au-dessus de sourcils touffus, la gueule grande ouverte montrant des rangées de dents et de crocs acérés, des lignes de petits trous pour l'attacher, le bronze à la patine verte pâle, D.W 36/84

The x-ray reveals that the mask is broken in several places. It shows that the left ear, a ca. 4,5x2cm large part of the right jaw and a ca. 2x1,5cm large part of the right brow are later additions. It shows that there are two breaks to the left horn that have been reinforced and a third break to the right horn that is reinforced. There is a crack with an associated filled-in area between the right ear and eye. There is a ca. 6cm long crack to the left of the nose between nose and fangs, two breaks across the ridge of the nose. A crack to the lower left hand jaw and below the ear as well as above the nose. There are small losses to the edges of the horns and along the edges of the mask. There are traces of green pigment and encrustation on both sides of the mask. The colour of the bronze and patina is more saturated than the illustration suggests. The inventory number D.W. 36/84 is inscribed in white below the nostrils on the back of the mask.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Surprisingly few bronze masks in the form of a stylized animal or taotie mask are recorded. The pair to the present mask reputedly discovered among the Western Zhou tombs excavated in the 1930s at Xincun, Henan, is illustrated by Magdalene von Dewall, New Data on Early Chou Finds. Their Relative Chronology in Historical Perspective, Taipei, 1967, pl. IVd. A second, but larger mask also from the David-Weill Collection, is illustrated in Georges Salles, Bronzes Chinois des Dynasties Tcheou, Ts'in and Han, Paris, 1934, cat. no. 102, and Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-1936, cat. no. 146. A related mask from the Buckingham Collection is published in Charles Kelley and Ch'en Meng-Chia, Chinese Bronzes from the Buckingham Collection, Chicago, 1946, pl. XL.