Coco Li
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Lot 60
A SMALL ENGRAVED GOLD CIRCULAR BOX AND A MINIATURE SILVER TREFOIL BOX Tang Dynasty and 10th century
14 December 2023, 17:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$10,880 inc. premium
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A SMALL ENGRAVED GOLD CIRCULAR BOX AND A MINIATURE SILVER TREFOIL BOX
Tang Dynasty and 10th century
The gold box of circular cushion shape, finely engraved with a 'phoenix' medallion on the cover and a 'winged stallion' medallion at the base each encircled by eight heart-shaped florets, the sides with twelve sets of cloud motifs, all on a dense 'fish roe' ground; the silver trefoil box with pointy 'leaf'-shaped sections and flat sides, the surface with black tarnish and bits of green malachite in areas.
gold box: 1 1/8in (2.8cm) diam, weight: 19.9g;
silver box: 5/8in (1.6cm) diam, weight: 2.87g (2).
The gold box of circular cushion shape, finely engraved with a 'phoenix' medallion on the cover and a 'winged stallion' medallion at the base each encircled by eight heart-shaped florets, the sides with twelve sets of cloud motifs, all on a dense 'fish roe' ground; the silver trefoil box with pointy 'leaf'-shaped sections and flat sides, the surface with black tarnish and bits of green malachite in areas.
gold box: 1 1/8in (2.8cm) diam, weight: 19.9g;
silver box: 5/8in (1.6cm) diam, weight: 2.87g (2).
Footnotes
唐 鳳凰飛馬寶相紋金盒
十世紀 三葉銀盒
A larger gold box of this design discovered at the Tang dynasty hoard at Hejiacun, near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, is illustrated by Qi Dongfang as line drawings in Research on Tang Gold and Silver, Beijing, 1999, p. 81, pl. 1-201.
Compare also the gold box of this form with closely related design, with a 'tortoise' medallion on one side and a 'flower' medallion on the other, illustrated by Gyllensvard, Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, p. 96-97, no. 41, recorded as 2.9cm and 16.5g.
The trefoil form of the miniature silver box is extremely rare. The fine workmanship of shaping the beaten silver in such scale demonstrates the skill of Tang artisans. A number of Ding ware trefoil dishes unearthed in 1985 from a cache at Huoshaobi village, Xi'an, Shaanxi province, attributed to the late Tang dynasty, may serve as a dating comparison. One dish from the group bearing an incised 'guan' mark at the base is illustrated in Selection of Ding Ware: the Palace Museum's Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2012, pp. 41-41, no. 6.
Another Ding ware trefoil dish from the Carl Kempe Collection, is illustrated by Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, no. 356, and by J. J. Lally & Co., Early Chinese White Wares: the Ronald W. Longsdorf Collection, New York, 2015, no. 13, described as Five Dynasties-Early Northern Song.