Pair of rare gilt bronze mat weights

Description:

China, Han Dynasty
L. 6,3 cm
These rare peacock-shaped weights, proudly displayed in all their splendour, are a rarity due to their outstanding detail and decoration. The elaborate plumage, the elongated neck, the beautifully moulded head and the gilding give these pieces an elegant appearance. Peacocks were exotic animals from the Süden and first appeared in Chinese literature in the third century BC. Their presence may therefore indicate the existence of tribute payments to the court of the Han dynasty at this time, see Edward Schafer, The Vermillion Bird, Berkeley, 1967, pp. 236-37. Peacocks were not only popular as decorative motifs, but also stood for auspicious omens (xiangrui) and epitomised the concern for life after death that was particularly prevalent during the Han dynasty.
From the Helmut Ploog collection (1940 - 2024), collected from 1965 onwards
Only very few bird figures can be compared with the present lot. See an example from the collection of Henri Vever, sold at Sotheby's London, 6 June 1995, lot 78. The peacock has sometimes been compared to the mythological phönix in its artistic representation. The phönix, which possesses similar auspicious qualities to the peacock, appears in various decorative forms. Compare, for example, a bronze-coloured weight in the form of a phönix, inlaid with gold and silver, from the collection of Dr Paul Singer, which was shown in the exhibition "Art of the Han" at the China Institute, New York, 1979, cat. No. 49; an elegant phoenix figure with elaborately worked tail feather, without inlay, from the exhibition "Ancient Chinese Bronzes", J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 2011, cat. No. 20; and a further, larger figure, also from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, sold at Sotheby'New York, 19 March 2019, lot 122 - Partially green corroded