A CHINESE GILT-BRONZE 'TAOTIE MASK' FIXTURE Han Dynasty 漢 銅鎏金獸面紋珮飾 Cast as a taotie mask with piercing, bulging eyes and a snout formed as a loop, the reverse applied with a rectangular tab for attachment, 9.5cm wide - PROVENANCE: Private London Collection 來源： 倫敦私人收藏 - c.f. An almost-identical fixture is in the collection of the British Museum, acc. no. 1947,0712.344. A related fixture from the Erwin Harris Collection was sold at Christie's New York, 16th March 2017, lot 861, and another comparable fixture was sold at Christie's London, 7th November 2017, lot 180. A pair of similar 'knockers' were sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th January 2023, lot 3042. A comparable fixture, dated to the Han Dynasty, is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, acc. no. AS43-1976. Another comparable can be found in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, acc. no. 50.26.8a,b. See a similar fixture, dated to the Warring States period, is in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., this one with a gold and silver-inlaid ring, and is illustrated by Thomas Lawton in 'Chinese Art of the Warring States Period', Washington D.C., 1982, pl. 24.