Coco Li
Sale Coordinator, Chinese Works of Art
Lot 30
A GROUP OF SILVER INLAID BRONZE CHARIOT FITTINGS
Western Han dynasty
20 March 2023, 08:30 EDT
New YorkSold for US$5,737.50 inc. premium
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I-Hsuan Chen
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Michael Hughes
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A GROUP OF SILVER INLAID BRONZE CHARIOT FITTINGS
Western Han dynasty
Comprised of a pair of cylindrical finials each with four projecting ribs; a pair of short cylindrical finials each with a single projecting rib; a pair of 'U'-shaped rein guides; a pair of rings and a larger bent ring; a thick plug with horseshoe-shaped top, all decorated with cloud motifs and volutes and spirals inlaid in silver, together with two small plain bronze rings, a small gilt bronze ring and a small bronze sphere pierced with a square aperture.
2 7/8in – 7/8in (7.4cm – 2.2cm) in various sizes (14).
Comprised of a pair of cylindrical finials each with four projecting ribs; a pair of short cylindrical finials each with a single projecting rib; a pair of 'U'-shaped rein guides; a pair of rings and a larger bent ring; a thick plug with horseshoe-shaped top, all decorated with cloud motifs and volutes and spirals inlaid in silver, together with two small plain bronze rings, a small gilt bronze ring and a small bronze sphere pierced with a square aperture.
2 7/8in – 7/8in (7.4cm – 2.2cm) in various sizes (14).
Footnotes
西漢 銅錯銀馬車部件一組
Compare the inlaid bronze chariot fittings from the tomb of Prince Liu Sheng (d. 113 B.C.) at Lingshan, Mancheng, Hebei province, illustrated in the excavation report, Mancheng Han mu fajue baogao (Excavation of the Han Tombs at Man-ch'eng), Vols. I and II, Beijing, 1980.
A Western Han chariot with inlaid bronze fittings, unearthed in Changqing county, Shandong province, is published by Cui in "Reconstruction and Study of the Horse-drawn Carriage No. 1 from Han Tomb No. 1 on Shuangru Hill," Kaogu, 1997, No. 3, pp. 16-25, and photo pl. 4. For a reconstructed chariot with original Western Han inlaid bronze fittings unearthed from Maoling, Shaanxi province, see catalog of the special exhibition organized by the Kentucky Horse Park, Imperial China: The Art of the Horse in Chinese History, Prospect, 2000, pp. 130-131, no. 111.
A closely related set of chariot fittings and horse trappings inlaid with gold, silver and gemstones was sold at J.J. Lally & Co. special exhibition, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, New York, 2011, no. 26, described as Western Han dynasty.
See also a variety of Han dynasty chariot and horse trappings illustrated by Sun, Han dai wuzhi wenhua ziliao tushuo (Illustrated Catalog of Material Culture in the Han Dynasty), updated version, Beijing, 2020, pp. 117-142.