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A BAMBOO-FORM BRONZE FLAIL, LATER QING DYNASTY TO REPUBLIC PERIOD
奥地利
09月10日 下午5点 开拍 / 09月08日 下午3点 截止委托
此拍品禁止/限制出入境
拍品描述

Description

A BAMBOO-FORM BRONZE FLAIL, LATER QING DYNASTY TO REPUBLIC PERIOD
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

China, 1800-1949. The neatly carved horn and metal handle equipped with a series of ribs and fitted with a globular floral pommel and a chape in the form of a mythical beast’s head with movable bulging eyes and floppy ears as well as long snout with pierced nostrils and neatly incised mane and beard, the mouth wide open revealing teeth and issuing the long shaft modeled as a bamboo stalk, with a similarly cast secondary rod suspended from a short chain.

Provenance: Galerie Hardt (established in 1976), Radevormwald, Germany, before 2020. Acquired by the gallery’s founder Peter Hardt (b. 1946) during his extensive travels in Asia, the first of which occurred during a formative world tour in 1973. Throughout his storied career, Peter Kienzle-Hardt organized countless exhibitions and participated in major international art fairs. He made many important contacts during this time and eventually met the Kienzle siblings, who shared his passion for Asian art and culture. A strong bond and deep friendship developed, ultimately leading to the creation of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst decades later in 2014. While the museum’s permanent exhibition predominantly comprised pieces from the Kienzle Family Collection, Peter Kienzle-Hardt supplemented it with objects from his own collection. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Very good condition with wear and manufacturing irregularities, minor warping, few minute nicks and tiny dents, one nick to the secondary rod, the wood handle with natural imperfections and minor losses, some elements slightly loose, overall bearing a fine, naturally grown patina.

Weight: 808 g
Dimensions: Length 62.8 cm

This striking bronze flail presents a bamboo-form shaft and chain-linked secondary rod, anchored by a beast-head chape and capped with a stylized floral pommel. Though evocative of martial implements, this object is best understood as a ceremonial or decorative work in the archaistic tradition, reflecting the Qing court’s interest in reviving ancient forms and motifs. The segmented shaft imitates bamboo, a powerful symbol in Chinese visual culture representing integrity, resilience, and scholarly virtue. Bamboo was frequently used in both functional tools and decorative bronzes to signal refinement and inner strength. The pommel is finished in a floral form, adding elegance and balance to the weapon’s otherwise rugged silhouette. This motif echoes lotus and chrysanthemum patterns, both long-associated with purity and nobility in Chinese aesthetic traditions. While its chained form nods to ancient flails or nunchaku-like weapons, the craftsmanship and symbolism suggest this piece was never intended for combat. Rather, it likely served a ritual, decorative, or scholarly purpose—a tribute to China’s deep martial and material heritage.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related earlier gilt-bronze ruyi sceptre with a bamboo-form handle, dated late Ming to early Qing dynasty, formerly in the collection of Mary and George Bloch and sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 23 October 2005, lot 9.

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价格信息

拍品估价:100 - 200 欧元 起拍价格:200 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

拍卖公司

Galerie Zacke
地址: Sterngasse 13, 1010 Vienna, Austria
电话: 0043-1-5320452
邮编: 1070
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