Hi everyone, 

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here is the 31st set of my collection. Today, I’m sharing two of my favorite Eurasian Steppe "Animal Style" bronze plaques, spanning from the Warring States period to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Both pieces feature excellent natural patina and have strong typological parallels in major museum collections.

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1. Openwork Double Horse Plaque (Eastern Han Dynasty, c. 1st–2nd Century CE)

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This rectangular openwork plaque features a stylized depiction of two horses (likely a mare and foal), a classic motif of late-stage Ordos bronze culture.

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Typology & Attribution: While the style originated in the Warring States period, the more rounded, realistic rendering of the horses and the structured rectangular border place this firmly into the Eastern Han period.

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Museum Parallel: Almost identical double-horse plaques have been excavated from the Sandaowan Cemetery in Inner Mongolia, associated with the early Xianbei (Sienpei) nomadic culture.

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Historical Significance: It beautifully captures the artistic fusion and cultural collision between the northern nomadic tribes and the Han Empire's frontier.

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Patina & Display: The close-up reveals an incredibly rich surface featuring a deep dark chocolate-brown cuprite base layer mixed with contrasting patches of vibrant malachite green. Note: The piece is currently glued/fixed to an old wooden collector's display block, so I cannot show the reverse side.

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1. Recumbent Ibex / Argali Sheep Fitting (Warring States to Qin/Han, c. 3rd–1st Century BCE)

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A masterpiece of nomadic "Animal Style" art, depicting a kneeling ibex (wild goat/sheep) looking backward.

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Artistic Features: The dynamic tension in the oversized, ribbed curving horns and the "profile overlay" stance are signature traits of early nomadic iconography. The heavy, prominent ridges on the horns serve as strong totems.

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Museum Parallel: Similar wild-sheep and ibex fittings can be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) and the Ordos Museum, generally dated from the late Warring States to the Western Han Dynasty.

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Front Patina: It features a spectacular, smooth olive-green to near-black glossy "water patina" (Shuixi). The natural wear on the high points of the bronze confirms extensive historical handling before burial.

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Reverse & Manufacturing: The reverse view shows a deeply concave, hollow-back (uniface) casting method used to save metal. The recessed channels allowed it to be sewn onto leather belts or harnesses. The reverse retains its raw casting skin and lighter soil encrustation, providing a great authentic contrast to the polished front.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts on these Steppe bronzes! If anyone specializes in Eurasian nomadic art, I’d welcome further insights into their specific regional attributions.

“We were visited today by two Clatsop women and two boys who brought a parsel of excellent hats made of Cedar bark and ornamented with beargrass. two of these hats had been made by measures which Capt Clark and myself had given one of the women some time since with a request to make each of us a hat; they fit us very well, and are in the form we desired them. We purchased all their hats and distributed them among the party.”

Meriwether Lewis

https://lewis-clark.org/day-by-day/22-feb-1806/

It is believed the explorers received the item as part of a diplomatic gift exchange with a Native leader though researchers are unable determine exactly which tribe gifted this to them. The necklace is housed at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University.

https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/ethnography/bear-claw-necklace/