漢 鎏金銅瑟枘|Top of a bridge pin

Unknown

2nd–1st century BCE · Gilt bronze · Asian Art

This sumptuous gilt bronze ornament in the shape of a mountain with wild animals would have decorated one of the tuning pegs that hold strings of a se, a plucked string instrument popular during the Zhou and Han dynasties. The numerous small holes on the piece served to attach it to the wooden peg. Comparable examples have been found in the tombs of the King of Nanyue, in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and the King of Jiangdu at Da Yun Shan, in Xuyi, Jiangsu.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd–1st century BCE

Medium

Gilt bronze

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1915