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A group of 11 gilt bronze 'cowrie shell' coins, Zhou dynasty,…
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
8-Aug-2021
Lot No.
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Description:
A group of 11 gilt bronze 'cowrie shell' coins, Zhou dynasty, possibly the Jin, Lu, and Wei cultures with box, Approx. 2.8 cm long each (11). Provenance: C. C. Teng, Taipei, 28 February 1995, no. 002550 (label and receipt) Cowrie shells are amongst the earliest known forms of currency. In Neolithic China, cowrie shell currency was in large circulation during the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties. During the late Shang dynasty, the bronze age, bronze was cast into shell forms as money. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Jin, Lu and Wei cultures started to see such bronze shells covered with gold leaf such as those in this lot
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Antiquities: Asian