One other garment-hook of similar design but much more degraded appearance and missing inlay from the Heeramaneck Collection was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 19 November 1982, lot 136. A very similar example in gilt bronze with a glass bead at the centre rather than the jade bi on the present object was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 7 December 1983, lot 69, from the Collection of the Hon. Hugh Scott, but in place of the ibex is a monster mask flanked above by chilong with bifurcated tails. Another comparable silvered bronze plaque in the Ashmolean Museum is illustrated by Bunker, Chatwin and Farkas, see “Animal Style” Art from East and West, Asia Society, exhibition catalogue, pl. 105.

The predatory imagery, more usually found on Ordos material of the Central Asian steppes, is particularly vivid on this example; tigers, wolves or bears are more commonly portrayed as predators of deer, horses or antelope; the owl motif and the exceptionally sculptural animals are also very rare features.

For a very rare gold example of similar, wide pear-shape cast with a comparable theme, see Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, Decorative Arts, volume 10, Gold, Silver, Glass and Enamels, no. 22 where the contorted animal has its hind legs folded up over its body. For a fine example of a jade and glass inset garment-hook also with a wide, pear-shaped shaft with dragons and dragon heads, see Eskenazi, Inlaid Bronze and Related Material from pre-Tang China, 1991, exhibition catalogue, no. 48; another well known gold wrapped silver example is published in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Daquan, volume on Gold, Silver, Jade and Stone, section on glass, p. 237 no. 003; this example is mounted with three jade slit disc jue, rather than bi inset with two identical glass beads with ‘eyes’ at both ends.