China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. This is a group of twelve small bronze objects with traces of original gilding that are the kind of thing you're likely to find in the British Museum's "mystery objects" quizzes -- they are sure to provoke discussion from anyone who sees them! They have delicate flower-shapes, with thin, hollow socketed stems with a single branch; their bases are either round discs or four-petaled flowers. These fittings are called gaigongmao in Chinese; they went on the top of the parasol used atop a horse-driven chariot. The Terracotta Army, from ca. 210 BCE, includes a carriage with an umbrella affixed to its side, and ancient China is our oldest known reference point for folding umbrellas. A fully gilded single example of one of these fittings sold for 2500 USD at Sotheby's in 2013. Size: 1.6" L x 0.55" W (4.1 cm x 1.4 cm)

Provenance: Ex- K. Dorney collection

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#113285

Slight bending to some; some small quantities of gilding remain.