A PAIR OF SAWASA TYPE PARCEL GILT-BRONZE EWERS AND COVERS
17th/18th century
Each globular body cast with two double-gourd cartouches depicting scenes of prunus branches and a lotus pond in high relief, amidst intricately incised leafy scrolls, the neck featuring two cartouches, each enclosing a crawling chilong, the S-curved spout issuing from an incised dragon's head, the loop handle terminating with a ruyi-shaped cartouche, the cover surmounted by a Buddhist lion, all supported on a pieced splayed foot. 30cm (11 3/4in) high. (4).
Footnotes:
十七/十八世紀 銅鎏金開光螭龍花卉紋執壺一對

The current lot exemplifies a cross-cultural dialogue between Chinese and Persian art. Originating from sixteenth-century Chinese ceramic vessels, this pair of ewers also exhibits the influence of Iranian metalwork, notably seen in the elongated necks and domed covers. See a similar pair of ewers with matching covers, illustrated by R. Mowry, China's Renaissance in Bronze: The Robert H.Clague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes, 1100-1900, Phoenix, 1992, pp.131-136, pl.26.

Compare with a similar gilt-bronze 'floral' ewer and cover, late Ming dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 28 March 2023, lot 980.

Some rubbing of the gilding; some traces of verdigris; some small dents; base possibly reinforced.