China
Gold Hilt decorated with "Panhui" pattern, eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 256 B.C.)

gold, 22 carat, weight: 52,3 g, turquoises, openwork cast upper hilt of a dagger/ sword

Short swords (or daggers) with straight blades convenient for close combat were popular in northwest China, yet the snakelike patterns known as "panhui" on the hilt of this object are a design of the Central Plain, and therefore it is a product of the exchanges between the two cultures. The design is based on repeated units forming the image of the winged dragon. The hilt was probably cast with two pieces of a mold made from the same original model, as patterns on both sides of the hilt are identical. The "panhui" patterns and beaded patterns are repetitive, reflecting the unit-based characteristic of patterns on Eastern Zhou cast objects.

Gold and silver were not as highly valued as bronze and jade in ancient China. It is only in the Eastern Zhou period that gold is used regularly

Similar works can be found in the collection of the British museum (1937, 0416.218) and in the collection of the Shaanxi Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
M: 40,6 mm x 26,2 mm

Provenance:
Belgian Private Collection, aquired 1987-1989 in the Peking art market

Expertise:
Prof. Dr. Ernst-Ludwig Richter, 29.09.2019, Freudental, Germany

Continent: Asia