Ancient Dian Culture Bronze Mythical Beast Weight, Warring States Period (5th–2nd Century BCE)

拍品描述

Dimensions：Overall Height 19 cm (7.48 in), Base Width 11 cm, Weight 995g, Bronze relic from Ancient Dian Kingdom, 5th to 2nd Century BCECondition & Provenance：This bronze mythical beast is fully intact with no missing segments, breaks, soldering or post-cast copper repairs. The whole surface is covered with thick natural ancient dark brown patina, layered burial encrustations evenly spread across the sculpture, all carved details remain crisp without heavy wear. The tall horn, layered ears and four paws are fully preserved, the base shows zero artificial grinding or fake aging, multi-layer patina developed naturally over thousands of years underground. Classified as ancient bronze ware, this artifact was circulated to California, USA, previously held in the private collection of a seasoned ancient bronze collector based in San Francisco, California. It includes original purchase documents from a Southeast Asian antique gallery and authentication test papers from a top North American metal artifact laboratory, with no modern restoration, artificial patina coating or reshaping modifications.Description：This bronze mat weight is an iconic relic of the Ancient Dian civilization from China’s Warring States era, a highly sought-after bronze artifact among antique bronze collectors across the American West. The sculpture depicts a crouching mythical auspicious beast with a full, stocky body and raw, unrefined carving lines that fully reflect the native primitive sculptural aesthetic of the Dian tribes. A tall, sharp horn rises vertically from the beast’s head, paired with large layered relief ears and a single simply carved protruding eye, delivering a mysterious, archaic facial expression. The beast hunches forward with front paws planted firmly, its rear torso rounded and full, a thick heavy tail curled down to the base. The balanced crouching form was originally crafted to press down mat corners in ancient noble households, blending daily functionality with sacrificial and auspicious symbolic meaning. The entire sculpture retains its original dark brown ancient patina, with uneven natural burial mottling covering every surface. The coarse textured exterior bears organic indentations and erosion from long underground interment, free of machine polishing or chemical fake patina treatments. The flat base and four paw bottoms carry uniform aged patina, and lab analysis confirms the metal is the unique high-tin bronze alloy exclusively used by Dian bronze casters. Complete unblemished Dian bronze beast weights are extremely scarce on today’s global antique market; most museum specimens suffer broken horns, missing limbs or damaged patina. This flawless intact bronze mat weight stands as a top-tier masterpiece of southwest Chinese ancient bronze art. It is perfect for long-term special exhibits at West Coast American Asian art museums, permanent private bronze collections, and vintage interior styling for both American and traditional Chinese decor spaces with distinctive pre-imperial exotic cultural charm.

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