†A RARE CHINESE RETICULATED GOLD ORNAMENTAL PLAQUE

†A RARE CHINESE RETICULATED GOLD ORNAMENTAL PLAQUE
EARLY MING DYNASTY

Delicately worked in relief with a dragon amidst clouds and with the head of a lion, 20g, 13.6cm.

Gold was limited in its use by the Ming dynasty sumptuary laws and was largely restricted to members of the Imperial family. Very few comparables have survived, other than a pair of gold plaques formerly in the collection of George Eumorfopoulos and Sir Bernard Eckstein, set with semi-precious stones from the Xuande period (1426-35), which are now in the British Museum, cf. Ming, 50 Years that Changed China, pp. 108-9, fig.98.

明早期 金雲龍紋飾