AN ARCHAISTIC GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE EWER AND COVER, HE SONG TO MING DYNASTY

of archaistic he form, cast with a compressed globular body resting on three slightly splayed and waisted legs and surmounted by a constricted neck and flared rim, the shoulder flanked by a long tapering cylindrical spout and a loop handle projecting from a bovine mask, the body bordered with two main registers enclosing gold and silver-inlaid taotie masks, divided by a raised band centred with a further raised rib decorated with a rope-twist motif, the handle, spout and legs intricately inlaid with gold and silver, the domed cover similarly inlaid with a taotie frieze and surmounted with a flared finial, the reddish-brown patina suffused with malachite encrustation

Rare Art, New York, 1976.
J.T. Tai & Co., New York.
Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2011, lot 227.

The vessel is in overall good condition. There are very light overall losses to the gold and silver inlay. The silver inlay is tarnished in some areas.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

High-quality gold and silver inlaid bronze incense burners, cast in the form of archaic ritual bronze vessels, were produced from the Song dynasty onwards, such as a gold and silver-inlaid bronze incense burner of archaistic liding form, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2014, lot 3335, from the collection of Ulrich Hausmann.

There was a profusion of high quality gold and silver-inlaid bronze vessels produced in the late Ming dynasty, especially under the auspices of the Hu Wenming workshop. For a Hu Wenming gold-inlaid gui incense burner preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2008, cat. no. 111. Other examples of comparable quality include the ding incense burner attributed to Hu Wenming in the Victoria & Albert Museum, from the Harry Garner Collection, illustrated by Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, pl. 41, and the pou incense burner (dated in accordance to 1613) formerly in the Dr. and Mrs. Peter Plesch Collection and later the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, sold in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 118.

For the prototype of the current bronze, see a ritual water vessel from the Western Zhou dynasty, a rare example complete with its cover, sold in our New York rooms, 17th October 2001, lot 11, and two other examples illustrated by Jessica Rawson, Western Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D.C., 1990, figs. 115.4 and 5.