A RARE AND MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE CHARIOT FITTINGS EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC The chariot fittings are exquisitely inlaid in gold and silver and skillfully cast in openwork in the zoomorphic form of a dragon pursuing a phoenix, the shaft in the form of a cross-bow support. The dragons are powerfully rendered with sinuous winged bodies inlaid in silver and gold with interlaced motifs, dots, striations and scale-shaped details. The three-claws of each front leg are hooked into the body of the phoenix that has an inclined head, blue-black glass eyes, sharp beak and curled crest. The interior of the bronze fittings have malachite patination and are heavily encrusted. 10 ¼ in. (26 cm.) long
Provenance
C.T. Loo, Paris, 1930. Comtesse de Behague (1870-1939), Paris. Marquis de Ganay (1861-1948), Paris. Stephen Junkunc III (d.1978), Chicago. Eskenazi, London, 2000. Property from a Princely Collection.
Literature
E. Ader and M. Rheims,Objets d'Art de Chine appertenant au Maquis de Ganay, auction catalogue, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 7 May 1952, no. 41. Eskenazi,Masterpieces from Ancient China, Millenium Exhibition, 1960-2000, New York, London, No. 4., p32.
