Five Chinese belt buckles, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Photo Gianguan Auctions.
NEW YORK, NY.- Men’s fashion has been hooked on the belt ever since warriors tucked weapons into bronze girdles and Chinese emperors elevated elaborate garment hooks to status symbols.
While today’s luxury item is the $550,000.00 Swiss-made white gold, titanium and diamond buckle, it is not as distinctive as the Fifth Century gilt bronze and jade diagou models coming to auction at Gianguan Auctions in New York on September 17th — just in time for Fashion Week lovers to snag one.
From the collection of a California gentleman, the ten ancient buckles were made during China’s Warring States period (411-420 AD ), when the kingdoms of Wei and Jin battled with the Zhou and other states for control of the country. At the time, only the royal elite could afford to wrap themselves in luxurious embroidered silk robes fastened with textured sashes secured by artisanal buckles of gold, silver, jade, turquoise and coral.
The collection at Gianguan Auctions is the stuff of designers’ inspiration. The buckles are in the form of dragons, tigers, birds and exotic and mythical qilin. All are symbols intended to bring the wearer good luck, good fortune, longevity and prosperity, proving, that man’s basics desires have not changed in thousands of years. As often as not, these belt buckles accompanied the well-dressed to the grave, along with a servant and horse, to help the noble establish his status in the underworld.
To accommodate the bespoke crowd that will have no trouble adding the word diagou to a lexicon that embraces the unique, Gianguan Auctions opens its preview on Friday, September 7th at 10:00 a.m., the day before the official start of Fashion Week. The belt buckles will be on display through Friday, September 16th.
Listed individually in the Gianguan Auctions catalog, the collection begins at Lot 140 and continues through Lot 155 and are conservatively valued at $2,000 to $3,000. Buyers need look no further than the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of ancient Chinese belt buckles for references to the ancient fashion statements. Gianguan Auctions substantiates age and provenance.
The Chinese belt buckles come to the podium on Saturday, September 17. Bidding is live in the gallery, by absentee ballot or online at invaluable.com
Lot 140. Gilt Bronze Mask Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
Plow-shaped, reticulated relief cast with mask in the center adorned with turquoise and agate inlaid. The elongated shaft tapering to a qilin head. Dimensions: Length: 6⅜ in (16.2 cm). Weight: 213 g.
Lot 141. Gold and Silver inlaid-bronze Tiger with Snake Head Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
Finely cast, the curved shaft adorned with a writhing mythical beast with the body of a tiger, its musculature expertly rendered and gracefully incised with geometric patterns and a pair of Jade horn, the elongated shaft tapering to a snake head hook, the reverse set with a raised circular knob with geometric design. Dimensions: Length: 5½ in (14 cm). Weight: 208 g
Lot 144. A Gilt-Bronze Mask Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $4,000 - $5,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
Of extraordinarily large size and superbly cast in relief as a mythical beast with feline features, a tapering dragon-headed hook rising from the top of its head, the concave underside with a circular button. Dimensions: Length: 8⅞ in (22.5 cm). Weight: 830 g
Lot 145. Gold and Silver inlaid-bronze Mythical Beasts Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
The complex and highly decorative inlay pattern of a mythical beast tapering to a Bird headed hook, the concave underside with a circular button decorated with silver scrolls. Dimensions: Length: 5 in (12.7 cm). Weight: 134 g
Lot 147. Gold and Silver inlaid-bronze Mythical Beasts Qilin Head Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
The contours of the recumbent beast highlighted with intricate geometric patterns in gold and silver inlay, with a qilin head extending from its mouth as the hook. The reverse cast with a round knob and Dense traces of encrustation. Dimensions: Length: 6⅝ in (16.8 cm). Weight: 316 g.
Lot 148. A Gilt Bronze Kui Dragon Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
Relief cast in the form of a double Kui dragons adorned with turquoise and agate, the reverse with a circular button for fastening, the terminal cast as a qilin head. Dimensions: Length: 6 in (15.2 cm). Weight: 161 g.
Lot 152. A Rare Gilt Bronze Tiger Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
The hook superbly cast as a tiger striding on clawed feet, its mouth agape, revealing fearsome teeth, the tail extended and terminating in a dragon head, the contours further highlighted with turquoise agate set flush with the bronze, the reverse cast with a round knob inlaid same. Dimensions: Length: 8¾ in (22.2 cm). Weight: 287 g.
Lot 155. Gilt Silver Inlaid with Jade Bronze Garment Hook, Daigou, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000. Photo Gianguan Auctions.
The ‘S’-curved body surmounted by a small phoenix head gracefully curving to a widening contours highlighted with intricate phoenix-zoomorphic patterns in gold and silver inlay set between three jade cabochons, the reverse cast with a round knob. Scattered traces encrustation found in dense patches on the reverse. Dimensions: Length: 8 in (20.3 cm). Weight: 277 g.