A PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE TIGER HEAD CHARIOT ORNAMENTS, WARRING STATES TO HAN DYNASTYChina, 475 BC to 220 AD. Each finely modeled in the form of a feline mask extending in a gentle curve to a socket of oval section terminating in three triangular points, the face with bulging eyes and a prominent snout.Provenance: A French private collection, acquired in Hong Kong during the 1980s. Galerie Achaia, Lyon, France, 2011. A French private collection built between ca. 1980 and 2012, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice from Galerie Archaia, Lyon, dated 10 November 2011, describing the present lot as a pair of gilt bronze animal-head chariot fittings from the Warring States period, apanies this lot.Condition: Fine condition,mensurate with age. Signs of weathering, traces of malachite and cuprite encrustations, soil encrustations, small nicks, and light scratches. The gilt particularly well preserved.Weight: 171.7 g (excl. base) and 366.2 g (incl. base), 164.4 g (excl. base) and 372.4 g (incl. base)Dimensions: Length 7.7 cm and 7.7 cmWith two modern metal stands. (4)Excavationshave revealed that these intriguing fittings are chariot ornaments once used to crown the curved ends of the yoke that was fitted around the horse's neck. Similar tiger fittings, either gilt-bronze or gilt and silvered bronze, were excavated in the Han tombs of Mancheng, Heibei province. See the excavation report, Mancheng Hanmu Fajue Baogao (Excavation of the Han tombs at Mancheng), volume 1, Beijing, 1980, pages 322-3, fig. 219-1 for illustration and fig. 215 for a reconstructed diagram showing where these fittings were originally placed.Literatureparison:Compare a related example included in the exhibition Inlaid Bronze and Related Material from Pre-Tang China, Eskenazi, London, 1991, cat. no. 23.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 28 July 2022, lot 3039Price: HKD 44,100 or approx.EUR 5,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A pair of gilt-bronze 'tiger' chariot yoke fittings, Western Han dynastyExpert remark:pare the closely related form, decoration and size (8.5 cm). Note the condition issues.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 26 August 2021, lot 1078Estimate: HKD 30,000 or approx.EUR3,700 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A pair of gilt-bronze tiger-form chariot fittings, Han dynastyExpert remark:pare the closely related form, decoration and size (8.5 cm). Note the significant condition issues.戰國至漢代一對銅鎏金虎頭輅中國，公元前475年至公元220年。每一個都虎頭形式精心建模，以柔和的曲線延伸到橢圓形截面的輅，終止於三個三角形點，面部大眼圓睜和鼻子突出。