AN ORDOS SILVER HORSE-TACK ORNAMENT, WARRING STATES China, Inner Mongolia, Ordos, 5th -3rd century BC. The silver Horse-tack ornament partly gilt and shaped as two fighting tigers, with three rectangular perforations to attach the leather straps.

Condition: Good, original condition, remarkable considering the age, with extensive wear to gilt and minor surface scratches.
Provenance: Private American collection, 2007. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above. Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in “Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond”. Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch.

Weight: 28.65 g
Dimensions: 4.5 x 4 x 1.5 cm

Literature comparison: Compare with similar ornaments in Drs. Koos de Jong, Dragon & Horse. Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond, Amsterdam - Hong Kong 2013, ill. 1.109, p. 22.