A VERY LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE ARCHAISTIC BRONZE PEAR-SHAPED VASE, HU

Massively cast bronze with décor in deep and high relief, movable bronze rings suspended on two looped handles, rich and dark patina

China, Ming dynasty

Rising from a splayed foot to a globular lower body and a gently splayed, tall, wide mouth above the dramatic taotie mythical beast-and-loop handles at the shoulders, the pear-shaped vessel cast with multiple registers of decoration, including taotie and leiwen-filled lappet medallions at the lower body, two central bands of abstract sinuous motifs, taotie bands and bird motifs on leiwen ground. The leiwen still remarkably crisp!

The Song Dynasty saw a revival in the appreciation of the austere shapes and decorative motifs of ritual vessels of the Shang and Zhou periods. From the Song Dynasty onwards, bronze and ceramic vessels inspired by archaic bronzes, but sometimes enriched with contemporary decorative elements, were produced for ritual and domestic use alike.

Several vases comparable in shape and decoration to the present lot are illustrated by R. Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, plates 31-38, where mostly dated to the Song or Yuan Dynasties. In the same volume, however, Kerr remarks that the decorative bands on bronze vessels would be applied separately to a core unit before casting, thus belonging to a repertory of standard patterns that could also be reproduced on later artefacts, such as the present lot.

Shape: Hu
Weight: 10 kilograms
Dimensions: Height 61,5 cm
Condition: Traces of wear and use as expected on a bronze of this age, two repairs to base and neck, the base re-attached, overall still good condition an spectacular appearance
Provenance: German diplomats private collection, acquired in China prior to 1970

Literature comparison: R. Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, plates 31-38.

Auction result comparison: ASIAN ART. Bonham’s, London, 3 Nov 2014, lot 252. (for a similar Hu)

明代大型仿古銅鑄雙耳壺
大型銅鑄，壺身高浮雕，可活動的雙耳，豐富的深色包漿
中國，明朝
品相良好，底部及壺頸兩處有修補
德國外交官私人收藏，於1970年前在中國取得