Gilt Silver Belt Set

Worked in high relief, these fourteen silver plaques originally embellished a leather belt belonging to a member of the Liao (916-1125) aristocracy. The two large pieces are decorated in repoussé with a stag running in a sparse landscape through rocks and tufts of grass. The six square plaques are each decorated with a recumbent doe in high relief. The four small shield-shaped fittings acted as grommets from which various items were suspended. While the basic repoussé techniques and taste for precious metals can be seen as a carryover from Tang, the subject matter of relatively naturalistic deer in an open landscape would have been especially relevant to the semi-nomadic Liao people.