Khmer, Cambodia
Circa 500 BC
Bronze with turquoise patina
Height 7 1/2 in (19 cm), Circumference 23 in (58.4 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Zurich, prior to 1970; private collection, Paris; Patricia Whithofs, London
The Dong Son culture of mainland Southeast Asia, flourishing from approximately 1000 BC to 100 AD across present day Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, produced a distinctive tradition of cast bronze objects including drums, axes, and personal ornaments distributed widely through regional exchange networks. Bronze necklaces of this stacked disc type were worn as prestige ornaments signaling access to metal resources and participation in long distance trade, and examples have been recovered from burial contexts across the Dong Son sphere of influence. The scale and weight of this example, with its circumference of 23 inches, suggests it was made for display as much as wear, signaling the status of its owner within the community.
The necklace is composed of closely stacked cast bronze rings or discs that have developed a rich turquoise and green patina across the entire surface, the result of centuries of burial and oxidation in the Cambodian soil environment. The even patination and structural integrity of the piece indicate stable long term burial conditions and careful handling since its recovery. Its Zurich private collection provenance predating 1970 and subsequent passage through Paris and London place it within the established European market for Southeast Asian bronzes with solid early collecting history.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Khmer, Cambodia
Circa 500 BC
Bronze with turquoise patina
Height 7 1/2 in (19 cm), Circumference 23 in (58.4 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Zurich, prior to 1970; private collection, Paris; Patricia Whithofs, London
The Dong Son culture of mainland Southeast Asia, flourishing from approximately 1000 BC to 100 AD across present day Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, produced a distinctive tradition of cast bronze objects including drums, axes, and personal ornaments distributed widely through regional exchange networks. Bronze necklaces of this stacked disc type were worn as prestige ornaments signaling access to metal resources and participation in long distance trade, and examples have been recovered from burial contexts across the Dong Son sphere of influence. The scale and weight of this example, with its circumference of 23 inches, suggests it was made for display as much as wear, signaling the status of its owner within the community.
The necklace is composed of closely stacked cast bronze rings or discs that have developed a rich turquoise and green patina across the entire surface, the result of centuries of burial and oxidation in the Cambodian soil environment. The even patination and structural integrity of the piece indicate stable long term burial conditions and careful handling since its recovery. Its Zurich private collection provenance predating 1970 and subsequent passage through Paris and London place it within the established European market for Southeast Asian bronzes with solid early collecting history.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
