Unknown Artist
- Title
- Ornamental sword hook
- Other titles:
- Small belt hook with incised dragon head on hook and taotie mask on body
- Place of origin
-
China
- Period
- Han dynasty 206 BCE - 220 CE → China
- Media category
- Metalwork
- Materials used
- bronze
- Dimensions
-
4.3 x 2.0 x 1.5cm
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of Josef and Regina Neumann 1988
- Accession number
- 129.1988.43
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
A dragon's head has been cast as the decorative tip of this ornamental hook. At the opposite end is a taotie mask, cast on top of a large buckle. Archaeological finds suggest this type of hook with its short body and broad end was used to bear swords and was worn vertically, rather than in the horizontal position used to secure a waist belt.
Asian Art Department, AGNSW, January 2012
- Exhibition history (1)
-
Dragon (2012), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 18 Jan 2012–06 May 2012.
