A GLASS-INLAID GILT-BRONZE ‘TIGER AND DRAGON’ BELT HOOK, WARRING STATES PERIODChina, 475-221 BC. Intricately cast and pierced to depict a tiger and chilong with powerful claws emerging from their entwined bodies, terminating in a neatly incised dragon-head hook above an oval green glass inlay. The underside with a circular button.Provenance: English trade.Condition: Good condition,mensurate with age. Extensive wear mostly to gilt, light scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, minor losses, small dents, possibly with an ancient repair to the hook. The glass inlay is original to the piece and shows natural decay as expected. Fine, naturally grown patina overall with malachite and cuprite encrustations.Weight: 133.4 gDimensions: Length 18.3 cmLiteratureparison:Compare a closely related gilt bronze belt hook, 17.6 cm long, also dated to the Warring States period, exhibited by the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong & Urban Council of Hong Kong, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, 12 October to 2 December 1990, and illustrated by Jessica Rawson and Emma Bunker, p. 212, no. 129. Alsopare with a gilt-bronze and glass-inlaid belt hook at the Metropolitan Museum New York, accession number .Auction resultparisonType: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s New York, 20 March 2019, lot 668Estimate: USD 4,000 or approx.EUR 4,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A gilt-bronze ‘dragon’ belt buckle, Warring States periodExpert remark: Note the slightly smaller size (17.5 cm), and the lack of glass inlay.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie's New York, 20 March 2015, lot 707Price: USD 9,375 or approx.EUR 11,200 converted at the time of writingDescription: A Rare Small Glass-Inlaid Gilt-Metal Belt Hook, Late Warring States-Early Eastern Han DynastyExpert remark:pare the closely related glass inlay, note the much smaller size (8.9 cm).戰國鎏金銅鑲玻璃龍虎斗帶鈎中國，公元前475-221年。繁複鑄造鏤空龍虎纏繞相鬥場景，龍頭鈎下有一塊橢圓形綠色玻璃鑲嵌物。底部有一個圓形扣鈕。