Skip Navigation

Garment Hook

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)
Belt hooks such as these would have been worn at the waist of a long robe by a member of the ruling elite; on the back is a small knob that would have attached to the robe’s belt. The tie or belt of the garment would have been wrapped around the head of the animal, possibly a dragon, at the curved end of the hook.
MEDIUM Bronze, inlaid with gold and turquoise
  • Place Made: China
  • DATES 475–221 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Warring States Period
    PERIOD Warring States Period
    DIMENSIONS 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 68.185.11
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Manheim
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Gold inlay in circles and diagonals. The hook of the buckle is in the shape of a snake or a bird's head. Condition: The bronze itself has a brownish patination but is covered in some spots by a heavy green patination. Traces of bronze disease. Chip on the edge near the bottom and a small chip on the neck of the animal about one inch from the head.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)
    CAPTION Garment Hook, 475–221 B.C.E. Bronze, inlaid with gold and turquoise, 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Manheim, 68.185.11. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.185.11_top_PS4.jpg)
    IMAGE top, 68.185.11_top_PS4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
     <em>Garment Hook</em>, 475–221 B.C.E. Bronze, inlaid with gold and turquoise, 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Manheim, 68.185.11. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.185.11_top_PS4.jpg)