Lot 3. An embellished gold and silver-inlaid bronze 'tiger' garment hook, Eastern Zhou dynasty (771-256 BCE); 11.1 cm. Lot sold: 756,000 USD (Estimate: 800,000 - 1,200,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2022
the hook modelled with an elaborate tiger head on one end, accentuated by a pair of alert eyes with black glass or frit framed by silver-inlaid S-shaped eyebrows, above a turquoise-studded muzzle, detailed with silvery whiskers, the carefully-sculpted face further enhanced by gold inlays, detailed with intricate scrollwork and geometric designs, the forehead surmounted by an ultramarine whorl-decorated glass bead flanked by a pair of turquoise bosses suggesting the ears, the curved slender shaft tapering to a small dragon-head hook at the other end, similarly patterned with delicate gold and silver inlays, the reverse left plain save for a silver-inlaid swirl-adorned button.
Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd, London, 10th July 1995.
Literature: Giuseppe Eskenazi in collaboration with Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand. The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012; Chinese version, Shanghai, 2015, reprint, 2017, pl. 64
Note: Bronze garment hooks first appeared in the Spring and Autumn period and enjoyed popularity from the end of the Warring States to the Han dynasty. They could be worn horizontally to fasten a belt or vertically to suspend other accessories such as pendants and daggers. Their outstanding quality, sometimes further enhanced by precious materials, underscores the status of their owners, highlighting their wealth or power. The present garment hook is remarkable for its impressive large head and the well-preserved condition of its inlays.
Elaborate bronze hooks of this period were inspired by a huge variety of animals, from amiable birds and ferocious felines to mythical dragons, many of which appear to be individually conceived. Compare three other feline examples, but with ribbed horns and shorter muzzles: a gilt-bronze hook once decorated with inlays, in the British Museum, London, accession no. 1936,1118.127, published in Jessica Rawson, Ancient China: Art and Archaeology, London, 1980, col. pl. X rightmost; another gilt-bronze hook, also without inlays, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gifted by Mr and Mrs Eugene V. Thaw, accession no. 2002.201.169; and a bronze glass-inlaid one in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, accession no. S2012.9.2340.
Although other known inlaid animal-form garment hooks exist, it is rare to find examples with precious inlays of comparable quality. A similar turquoise and glass embellished gilt-bronze hook was sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2006, lot 156. See also a bronze garment hook inlaid with an identical glass bead with multiple 'eyes' in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, accession no. S2012.9.1822.
Zoomorphic chariot yoke fittings of this period share many features with this type of garment hooks. A closely related gold- and silver-inlaid ornament, modelled as a feline head but with a more arced neck indicating its likely function as a chariot fitting, formerly in the collection of Adolphe Stoclet, is published in Georges A. Salles and Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Collection Adolphe Stoclet, Brussels, 1956, p. 345a.
Sotheby's. HOTUNG The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1, Hong Kong, 8 October 2022