Liao Dynasty – Song Dynasty, A.D. 10th-13th Century
each long gold wire pin attached at the back to a thin gold relief-moulded finial, including a leaping dragon with a ‘flaming pearl’ in its open jaws enclosed within a wide floral frame surmounted by a flying bird with long tail feathers, three similar moulded dragons shown in the same leaping pose with tail curled over the head and each enclosed by a ‘U’-shaped floral frame, four phoenix birds shown with wings folded and long tail feathers curled under, enclosed within matching ‘U’-shaped floral frames, and a pair of walking geese within a matching ‘U’-shaped floral frame.
Length 2 9⁄16 to 3 13⁄16 inches (6.5 to 9.7 cm)
A group of three gold hair ornaments of this type are illustrated in line drawings by Zhu in Liao dai jinyinqi (Liao Dynasty Gold and Silver), Beijing, 1998, p. 174, no. 116.
Another group of similar gold hair ornaments from the Muwen Tang Collection is illustrated by Kwan in Chinese Gold Ornaments, Hong Kong, 2003, pp. 494-495, no. 336, attributed to the Ming dynasty.
遼 – 北宋 龍鳥紋鏤空金髮飾九件 長 6.5 至 9.7 厘米
Liao Dynasty – Song Dynasty, A.D. 10th-13th Century
Length 2 9⁄16 to 3 13⁄16 inches (6.5 to 9.7 cm)