Bronze belt buckle

A circular bronze belt buckle of shallow dish shape, the reverse fitted with a bracket hook for attachment.  The  concave front is cast in relief with a pattern of five intertwined stylised snakes, forming an abstract pattern around a central conical boss.  The bronze has a pleasing, bright green patina.

• The Dian kingdom, centred on lake Dian in eastern Yunnan province, southern China, was the best known and possibly richest of several civilisations that developed almost independently during the Han dynasty.  The Dian culture is known for its variety of metallurgical techniques and great dynamism in design, producing objects very different in form and style to the works of art produced during the Warring States and Han periods in China.  Animal motifs are the most frequently occurring decorative feature on Dian bronzes.  The striking decorative device of intertwined stylised snakes would appear to be unusual; more common are buckles of circular form inlaid with tiny turquoise beads and other hardstones such as jade and agate.  An example of such a buckle, together with a gold belt, is in the Lijianshan Bronze Museum in Jiangchuan County, Yunnan Province.1

1. Ting, J. et al Hunting and Rituals: Treasures from the Ancient Dian Kingdom of Yunnan, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong 2004, no. 69, pp. 118-9