Ben Janssens Oriental Art

Gold repoussé comb top

Tang dynasty, 618 – 906

Length: 2 inches, 5 cm

The use of gold in China’s long history can be dated back as early as the Bronze age. According to White, the Chinese used combs of this basic shape as an ornament to keep hair in place as early as the Warring States period (475 – 221BC).[1] It was not until the Tang dynasty that the use of combs, zhi or shubi in Chinese, became more common and in vogue.[2] The repoussé design on this comb top, created by working the metal from the back, resulting in a relief design on the other side, is executed with great control and attention to detail. While some extant gold combs incorporate purely ornamental design, such as an example from the Pierre Uldry collection, now in the Rietberg Museum in Zurich,[3] other examples show a combination of animal and floral motifs, such as a gilded silver comb from the Mengdiexuan collection, also dated to the Tang dynasty.[4] A gold comb top of almost identical form and size but with a purely floral design motif is in the Simon Kwan collection.[5] An example of identical size, form and decorative design but with lions rather than tigers and birds among foliage, is in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.[6]

Gold scarf pendant or pomander

A yellow gold teardrop.shaped scarf pendant or pomander, consisting of two openwork halves fitting together to form a container with a recessed centre. The flat front and back are worked in fine detail on the exterior with mirrored intricate designs of curling branches, the edges of which are decorated with faux-beading. The pointed top of the pomander is drilled for suspension. The flat sides have faux-beading on the edges, and are punched with tiny floral scrolls. The high-carat gold retains a lustrous, golden sheen.

Song dynasty, 960 – 1279

Length: 3 1⁄4 inches, 8.2 cm