Western Han dynasty, 206 BC – 9 AD 

Length: 18 1⁄2 inches, 47 cm

A bronze wine ladle with an oval-shaped bowl and a long handle terminating in a dragon-head. The part of the handle closest to the bowl is

Han dynasty, 206 BC .220 AD

Length: 2 5⁄8 inches, 6.7 cm

A giltbronze model of a silkworm, its segmented body realistically modelled with rounded head, tail horn and eight pairs of suction pads underneath. The bronze is covered in

North-west China Warring States period, 475-221 BC 

Length: 2 1⁄4 inches, 5.8 cm

Two sheet-gold ornaments, each in the form of two confronting coiled raptors, shown in profile with curved beaks and horns and centred on a small circle in

Eastern Zhou, Warring States period 3rd – 2nd century BC 

Length: 5 1⁄4 inches, 13.2 cm

A giltbronze harness ornament of teardrop shape, which ends in a point at one side and has a central aperture. The main decoration consists

Western Zhou dynasty, c. 1100 – 771 BC 

Length: 8 inches, 20.2 cm

A bronze wine ladle, comprising a tulip-shaped bowl and a long handle, with a flared, curved end. A stylised ridge forms an angle near the quarter-section of

Shang dynasty, Anyang phase 13th – 12th century BC

Height: 7 inches, 17.8 cm
Width: 6 inches, 15.2 cm

Fig 1 & 2 – Zi Mei jue in the Rong Hou collection

A bronze libation vessel of jue