Overview

This gilt-bronze decorative fitting bears a design that was engraved with a chisel. A number of gilt-bronze fittings have been found on coffins and miniature shrines (J., zushi) from tombs of the Liao dynasty (916-1125) in China. This work is also believed to have been excavated from a tomb; however, where and exactly how it was mounted remains unknown. The combination of a dragon and clouds that are depicted more like arabesques is a popular design in Chinese art. Such designs can often be found on works from northeast China in the Liao and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties and from the Korean Peninsula in the Koryo period (918-1392).