A CHINESE BRONZE ORNAMENT, TANG TO LIAO China, Tang Dynasty (618- 907) - Liao dynasty (916-1125). The bronze ornament cast in openwork to depict a dragon between lotus flowers. Fine naturally grown patina. Condition: Good, original condition, remarkable considering the age of this plaque! Some wear and losses. Provenance: Dino Caputo, Antiekmarkt De Looier 2, Amsterdam, 2004. Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in "Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond". Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch. Weight: 15.29 g Dimensions: Height 8.5 cm Literature comparison: Compare with similar ornaments in the exhibition catalogue - Chinese Gold & Silver in American Collections, the Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio, no. 5, p. 39 and Helmut Brinker and Pierre Uldry, Chinesisches Gold und Silber, Museum Rietberg, Zuerich 1994, no. 219 p. 205.