Tang dynasty or Tang style, bronze cast monkey form belt hook, displaying an animated pose as if swinging in the trees, 1-1/4 x 4 in., with metal stand, dimensions on stand 3 x 4-1/2 x 1 in.

Note: The belt hook was a device used for fastening that predates the belt buckle. The earliest archaeological evidence of belt hooks dates to the 7th century BCE in East Asia. The iconography of this piece was modeled upon the earliest Chinese simian-shaped objects - belt hooks that date from the Eastern Zhou period (ca. 4th to 3rd centuries CE) - depicting a gibbon with outstretched arms and hook-shaped hands like this example.

surface dirt and accretion, remnants of earlier gilding; stand with some wear to paint