AN ORDOS BRONZE ‘COPULATING TIGERS’ PLAQUE, WARRING STATESChina, Inner Mongolia, Ordos, 475-221 BC. The plaque cast in openwork with two tigers copulating, the male mounting the female from behind, with pierced eyes, ears, paws, and mouths.Condition: Good, original condition, remarkable considering the age of this plaque! Some wear, miniscule nicks and scratches, minor dents and tiny losses. Originally with inlays, which are missing. Fine dark patina.Provenance: Grays Antique Center, London. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above in 1999. Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era and published an extensive study of saddle rugs in Dragon & Horse. Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond. Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch.Weight: 5.2 gDimensions: Length 3 cmAccording to Emma C. Bunker (see reference below): “Copulating animals occur on artifacts belonging to the non-Chinese peoples that inhabited northern China and Inner Mongolia, particularly areas where hunting was a major element in the local economy. The animals, which include leopards, wild pigs, and deer, are always wild, not domesticated.”Literature comparison: E.C. Bunker, Ancient Bronzes of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York 1997, p. 166, no. 71.鄂爾多斯雙虎銅牌，戰國中國，内蒙古，鄂爾多斯，公元前475-221。鏤空的銅牌上有兩隻老虎交配，雄虎立於雌虎後方，眼睛、耳朵、爪子和嘴巴処鏤空。品相：良好的原始狀態，考慮到銅牌的年齡已屬機好！ 一些磨損，微小的划痕和刻痕，微小的凹痕和缺損。 最初帶有嵌體，但遺失。細膩的深色包漿。來源：倫敦Grays Antique Center古玩中心。Drs. Koos de Jong收藏，1999年購於上述藝廊。Drs. de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家， 幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。 2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。重量：5.2 克尺寸：長 3 厘米