North China, 3^rd-1^st century BC. Each powerfully cast as crouching bears with menacing expression, the mouth wide open, the funnel-shaped ears pricked up, the fur neatly incised along the edges of the face, ears, and tail, the large paws well-detailed with long sharp claws. The reverse of each with a lead core.

Provenance: One from the collection of Max Lowenson, acquired between 1930 and 1959; the other previously with Ted Few, London, United Kingdom. The Essex Collection of Chinese Art, acquired from the above via inheritance and trade, respectively. A copy of a signed receipt recording the exchange of objects between Dr. Ben Essex and Ted Few, dated 3 January 2019, accompanies this lot. Born in Latvia, Max Lowenson (1879-1945) immigrated to Cardiff, Wales, in the early 20th century, where he became a successful businessman. His prosperity allowed him to travel extensively across Asia, sparking a deep fascination with Chinese history and leading to the formation of an impressive collection of Chinese art, spanning from the Warring States period to the Tang dynasty. Lowenson's legacy continues through his grandson, Dr. Ben Essex, and his wife, Nina Essex, who inherited and expanded the collection. Today, pieces from Dr. Essex's collection are housed in the National Museum of Wales.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age, with ancient wear, signs of weathering and erosions, encrustations, light tarnishing, casting flaws, and small dents. The silver has a fine, naturally grown patina with some malachite encrustations.

Weight: 277 g and 247 g
Dimensions: Diameter 5.1 cm (each)

Weights crafted from precious materials such as bronze and jade, often gilded or inlaid with gold, silver or gemstones, were produced in sets of four and served a practical function of anchoring down woven mats for seating. Mats and corner-weights were believed to have been used at banquets, even those laid out in tombs. Inlaid animal-form weights were discovered in the tomb of Dou Wan, consort of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan (d. 113 BC), alongside food and wine vessels.

The bear has been a popular totemic emblem in China since ancient times. China's foundation myths hold that the legendary Yellow Emperor, or Huang Di, early on lived with his tribe in the northwest, presumably in modern Shanxi Province, but then later migrated to Zhuolu, in present-day Hebei Province, where he became a farmer and tamed six different types of ferocious beasts, including the bear, or xiong, with which the Yellow Emperor ever since has been linked. According to legend, Gun — said to have been the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the father of Yu the Great, or Da Yu — stole a special soil with which he planned to build dikes in an attempt to control the Yellow River's constantly recurring and very devastating floods. He failed in his mission, however, and, as punishment for his theft, was killed by Zhurong, the God of Fire. Gun's corpse turned into a yellow bear, or huangxiong, and jumped into a pool. A while later, a golden bear, alternatively said to be a golden dragon, emerged from the corpse's stomach and ascended into heaven, where the Yellow Emperor instructed it to complete his father's work in taming the Yellow River's waters. That bear turned out to be Da Yu, who — according to popular belief — heroically controlled the floods and became the mythological forefather of China's Xia dynasty. Therefore, the bear has been prominently associated with legendary rulers and Chinese national foundation myths since the earliest times.

Bears are native to China, their presence there known since antiquity. They were kept in Han imperial zoos and parks, where the emperor and his entourage enjoyed watching them in performance or in combat with other animals. On the other hand, they were perceived as enlightened creatures and it was believed that they resided in spiritual mountains and possessed the ability to intermediate between heaven and earth. Bears have also been linked with military prowess, shamanism, and immortality. As a corollary, it might be noted that the words for 'bear' and 'virility' are exact homonyms, pronounced xiong. According to the 'Rites of Zhou', Zhou Li, edited during the Han dynasty, bears were employed in exorcism rituals, their skin worn over the head of the performer who, holding a lance and a shield, led the officials to perform the Seasonal Exorcism by searching through houses and driving away pestilences. See J. Lagerway, Early Chinese Religion. Part One. Shang through Han (1250 BC-220 AD), Boston, 2008, page 287.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related silver strap crossing cast with the same bear motif, 3.2 cm diameter, dated 3^rd to 2^nd century BC, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2002.201.163.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 852
Price: USD 13,750 or approx. EUR 16,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt-bronze zither string anchor, se rui, north China, 2^nd-1^st century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related motif of a crouching bear, albeit made from gilt bronze. Note the different purpose, identical size (5.1 cm), and that the lot comprises only a single item.