AN INTERLOCKING GILT-BRONZE ‘BUDDHIST LIONS’ BELT BUCKLE, TANG DYNASTY

拍品描述

AN INTERLOCKING GILT-BRONZE ‘BUDDHIST LIONS’ BELT BUCKLE, TANG DYNASTY Expert’s note: The ingenious construction of the present belt buckle relies on a simple fastening mechanism. The buckle is made in two corresponding yet separate sections, one centered by a projecting hemispherical boss and the other with a matching openwork rosette. To fasten the belt, the boss was inserted through the opening of the opposing rosette, effectively locking the two halves together. When closed, the separate components formed a single, visually unified openwork composition, combining the practical fastening device with the ornament itself. China, Tang dynasty, 618-907, or possibly Liao dynasty, 907-1125. Finely cast in openwork as a quadrilobed plaque framed by a raised double border, the central composition depicting two confronted Buddhist lions amid scrolling foliage, each rendered with finely incised fur and raised forepaws, flanking a central lotus rosette centered by a prominent hemispherical boss. (2) Dimensions: Length 19.8 cm Literature comparison: Compare a related gilt-bronze plaque with a lion and similar modeling, dated to the 10th century, 21 cm high, in the San Antonito Museum of Art, object number 2021.1.2. Auction Result Comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2022, lot 182 Price: HKD 239,400, approx. EUR 36,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related gilt-bronze plaque, similarly conceived with confronted animals within a rectangular bordered field and retaining extensive gilding.

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