A small Chinese gilt-bronze figure of a striding dragon 铜鎏金行龙 Six dynasties to Tang dynasty ????

The serpentine dragon cast in mid-stride, its elongated sinewy body raised on four slender limbs, trailed by a long slightly curved tail, the imperious head held high and proud atop a slender S-shaped neck, with a single horn above a long upturned snout, traces of gilding; with later wood stand

L: 3 3/4 in.

PROVENANCE:

S. Bernstein & Co., San Francisco

Property from a private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from the above, January 31, 1997 (sold as Six Dynasties)

EXHIBITED:

"Heaven & Earth Exhibition", no. 23 (label)

NOTE:

The present dragon relates to pieces dated from the Six dynasties to the Tang Dynasty. They are notable for their elongated serpentine bodies, long slender legs and tails and head, often with upturned nose. See the dragon from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III, dated to the early sixth century, illustrated in "Art of the Six Dynasties", New York, 1975, p. 61, no. 37, and a more lively example in the collection of the Princeton Art Museum, ibid, p. 62, no. 38. See also the dragons illustrated in Carol Michaelson, "Gilded Dragons, Buried Treasures from China's Golden Ages", London, 1999, where it is suggested that such dragons may have served as dedicatory deposits. See the Tang dynasty striding dragon p. 92, no. 53, and the pair of small (4cm long) gold Tang dynasty examples from a set of twelve discovered in the Hejiacun hoard, Xian in 1970, p. 120, no. 83. Compare also the small dragon dated to the Six Dynasties period, sold at Christie's New York, March 20, 2000, lot 184.

來源：

Bernstein & Co.,舊金山

馬里蘭州Bethesda私人藏家於1997年1月31日購藏於上述來源（斷代六朝）

展覽：

"Heaven & Earth Exhibition", 編號. 23 (標籤)

註：

是件拍品形製類似於六朝至唐代作品。顯著風格為其修長軀幹，長足，尾及頭。鼻子常上卷。見一例子於Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 三世，斷代六朝，著錄於"Art of the Six Dynasties",紐約，1975年，頁61，編號37，以及一更為鮮活之作品藏於普林斯頓博物館，頁62，編號38；Carol Michaelson所著書 "Gilded Dragons, Buried Treasures from China's Golden Ages"，倫敦，1999年，提到此類行龍為獻祭所用。見一唐代行龍於頁922，編號53，另見一隻唐代小金龍（4釐米）出土於何家村窖藏之一組十二件，1970年，頁120，編號83.還可比對一例經由紐約佳士得於2000年，3月20日售出，拍品184.