China, Inner Mongolia, Ordos, 4th-3rd century BC. Of circular shape, cast in the form of a crouching bear with distinctive ears and finely incised claws.
Condition: Extensive wear, losses on the back, minor dents. Fine dark patina with small areas of malachite green patina as well as encrustations on the interior. Provenance: Grays Antique Center, London. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above in 2007. Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era and published an extensive study of saddle rugs in Dragon & Horse. Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond. Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch. Published: Dr. Koos de Jong, Dragon & Horse. Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond, Amsterdam - Hong Kong 2013, ill. 1.10 (left), p. 23.
Weight: 17.8 g Dimensions: Diameter 3 cm
Auction result comparison: Compare with a closely related scroll weight sold by Christie’s Los Angeles in Myth and Reality: Animals in Chinese Art on 7 May 1999, lot 31, for USD $23,000 incl. buyer’s premium.
品相:廣汎磨損,背部有缺損,輕微凹痕。深色包漿,局部有銅綠,内部有結殼。 來源:Grays Antique Center, London. Drs. Koos de Jong收藏,2007年購於上述收藏。Drs. de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家, 幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書,內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。 2013年,他在《Dragon & Horse:Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間,他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作,並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。 出版:Dr. Koos de Jong著書《Dragon & Horse. Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》, 阿姆斯特丹 - 香港,2013年,圖1.10左側,頁23。