Lot 5639 A rare archaic bronze 'dragon and tiger' spear guard, Han dynasty | 漢 青銅龍虎紋鎩格

A rare archaic bronze 'dragon and tiger' spear guard, Han dynasty | 漢 青銅龍虎紋鎩格

HKD 400,000

400,000 - 800,000 HKD

未知

In good overall condition, general surface wear including typical verdigris.
品相良好，器表散見正常銅綠。

A rare archaic bronze 'dragon and tiger' spear guard
Han dynasty
漢 青銅龍虎紋鎩格
w. 13.5 cm
来源：Purchased in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 7th October 2004.
來源：
購於烏蘭巴托，蒙古，2004年10月7日
图录
说明：Unusually broad compared to standard sword guards (jiange), the present lot would likely have served as the guard for a polearm, such as a spear or lance. While the guards of utilitarian weapons are typically plain and unadorned, the present example is elaborately decorated with a human mask alongside a dragon and tiger . Furthermore, it is pierced on one side for the attachment of a long tassel, suggesting that it was mounted on a ceremonial weapon intended for ritual use.
The only known comparable example is a virtually identical guard in the collection of the Musée du Louvre, Paris, attributed to the Han dynasty, formerly in the collection of C.T. Loo, illustrated in René Grousset, Les civilisations de l'Orient, vol. III, Paris, 1929, p. 97, fig. 78;(Fig. 1) and later published in Michael Batterberry, Chinese & Oriental Art, New York, 1968, p. 20, pl. 35.
此器較一般劍格寬大，當為矛或鎩類兵器之格擋。一般實用兵器之格擋多素面簡潔，而本件裝飾為複雜的人面及圓雕龍虎，且一面有穿孔，為穿戴長纓之用，故此推斷為祭祀儀仗所用兵器。同類器物目前所見惟法國盧浮宮所藏一例，訂為漢代與本件如出一轍，為盧芹齋舊藏，見René Grousset著，《Les civilisations de l'Orient》，巴黎，1929年，卷三，頁97，圖78；（圖一）後又著錄於Michael Batterberry，《Michael Batterberry：Chinese & Oriental Art》（中國與東方藝術），紐約，1968，頁20，圖35。