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THBChinese Han Dynasty Gilt Bronze Tao Tie Handles
Lot 51a
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$2,200 - $3,300
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Jul 1, 2021
Set Reminder
2021-07-01 10:00:00
2021-07-01 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/antiquities-asian-ethnographic-art-7148
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern, Asian, Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fossils, Fine Art, more! All legally acquired, legal to sell. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern, Asian, Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fossils, Fine Art, more! All legally acquired, legal to sell. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (345)
- Lot Description
East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. A beautiful matched pair of gilt bronze handles with mask faces known as taoties. These taoties are characteristically shown with a forward facing and symmetrical visage. The ring handle is attached to the loop formed by the creature's snout. The mask faces are cast separate from the vessel and have arms on the verso for attaching to the sides of a ding vessel. The gilding on these suggests that the vessel they were part of was a magnificent piece. The taotie is a mythological creature with a ferocious appetite. Size of handle: 1.8" L x 1.25" W (4.6 cm x 3.2 cm); wood display: 3.75" L x .375" W x 2.15" H (9.5 cm x 1 cm x 5.5 cm); quality of gilt: 27% to 29% (equivalent to 7K+)
The taotie is one of the "four fiends" or "four evil creatures" of Chinese mythology, and it is a particularly fascinating and ancient symbol seen on ancient bronzes. In the Lushi Chunqiu, known in English as Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, a Chinese encyclopedia compiled around 239 BCE, the taotie is described thusly: "The taotie on Zhou bronzes has a head but no body. When it eats people, it does not swallow them, but harms them" (16/3a Prophecy). This and other ancient descriptions of the creature suggest that it related to making food offerings/sacrifices for the insatiable spirits of the dead. Some scholars believe that the creature is part of the mysterious communication between people and the gods.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Sotheby's, London, December 1989
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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#160582Minor nicks and surface abrasions. Fading and losses to gilt. Great details, green patina, and rings articulate.Condition
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