J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York

31.
A LARGE GILT BRONZE OPENWORK PICTORIAL PLAQUE

Eastern Han Dynasty, A.D. 2nd - Early 3rd Century

the rectangular panel filled with a cut-out image of a giant phoenix bird with wings displayed and long tail feathers rising high at the back, with its large talons resting on swirling clouds, a small figure of a slender girl at one side shown wearing long robes with wide sleeves, looking up at the mythical bird, her head shown silvered and with simple features lightly engraved in a linear style, the remainder of the panel with engraved linear details throughout and with an engraved zigzag border, unevenly gilded all over and showing some bright green corrosion around the edges, together with four domed oval cicada-shaped bosses over spikes for attachment, each with four short legs at the edges, finely engraved on the back with large wings shown in outline and with winged dragons and cloud scrolls engraved in outline and picked out in gilding on a silvered ground, the outlines of the cicada also gilded and the engraved circular eyes silvered, the underside hollow and centered with a spike.

Plaque: 18 ³⁄₈ inches (46.7 cm) x 16 ⁵⁄₈ inches (42.2 cm)
Bosses: 3 ³⁄₈ inches (8.5 cm) x 1 ⁷⁄₈ inches (4.8 cm each)

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