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Buckle ornament
Bronze
and turquoises
Diam:
8.5
cm
Dian
Kingdom
(Western Han period, 2nd - 1st
century BC)
The
outer border of the round buckle is decorated with a series of seven birds.
The buckle is inlaid with a rather large band of turquoise disks surrounding a
much smaller band contained within a bronze ridge. A turquoise button is set
at the center of the buckle ornament.
On the reverse a horizontal hook is placed a little bit off-centre.
A
number of circular buckle ornaments have been recovered from Dian graves. It
has been suggested that the Dian circular ornaments served as protective
amulets.
The
decoration of many circular buckles ranges from quite simple to very ornate,
suggesting that the status, wealth, and power of their owners may also have
played a role in their decoration
The
Dian
Kingdom
developed from the late Warring States until the Western Han period in the
area of
Lake
Dian
near
Kunming
in
Yunnan
province.
Ref:
“The
Chinese Bronzes of Yunnan” by Jessica Rawson and others,
London
: Sidgwich and Jackson, 1983
“La
civilisation du Royaume de Dian à l’époque Han d’après le matériel
exhumé à Shizaishan (Yunnan) » by M.
Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens - Ecole
Francaise d’Extreme Orient - 1974
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