- 100
A RARE AND LARGE GOLD AND MALACHITE-INLAID BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL (FANGHU) WARRING STATES PERIOD
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- bronze
of pear form and square section, rising to a tall neck with everted lipped rim and supported on a straight-sided base, a pair of mask handles to either side with pendent ring handles, decorated overall with an intricate geometric design of three rows of a zigzag framework filled with symmetrical configurations of angular scrolls and hooks alternating with bands of C-scroll confronting dragon-head profiles, the pattern delineated by finely inlaid gold wire and accented with small pieces of inset malachite, wood stand, Chinese hardwood box (3)
Provenance
Japanese Collection, acquired before the 1960s.
Exhibited
Chūgoku senkoku jidai no bijutsu, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 1991, cat.no. 57.
Chūgoku Inshū dōki ten, Takashima Department Store, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, 1958, cat. no. 76.
Kodai Chūgoku seidōki meihin ten, Shinsaibashi Daimaru Department Store, Osaka, 1960, cat. no. 54.
Chūgoku Inshū dōki ten, Takashima Department Store, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, 1958, cat. no. 76.
Kodai Chūgoku seidōki meihin ten, Shinsaibashi Daimaru Department Store, Osaka, 1960, cat. no. 54.
Literature
Chinese Art of the Warring States Period, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Naniwa Publishing, Osaka 1991, p.59, no. 169.
Condition
This vessel has a small filled patch to the center of one side of the body. There are losses and replacements to the stone inlay and the surface design is mostly later enhanced with gold pigment.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Examples of finely inlaid fanghu vessels of this size and decoration are very rare. Known related examples seem to be most often decorated with an overall diamond pattern. There is a decagonal hu decorated with a similar zigzag pattern dated to the 5th century BC, illustrated Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C. 1995, no. 45, pp. 261-263.
Other examples of inlaid fang hu but with designs of a diagonal layout, include one excavated in Shanxian, Henan province and now preserved in the National Museum of China, Beijing, included in the exhibition The Great Bronze Age of China, New York, 1980, pl. 73, fig. 2; and one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., published in John Alexander Pope et al., The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Washington D.C., 1967, vol. I, pl. 94. A final comparison in the Hebei Provincial Museum is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 9, Beijing, 1997, pl. 155, fig. 3. A fanghu with diagonal and bossed decoration from the Albright Knox Museum was sold in these rooms, 19th-20th March, 2007, lot 508.
Other examples of inlaid fang hu but with designs of a diagonal layout, include one excavated in Shanxian, Henan province and now preserved in the National Museum of China, Beijing, included in the exhibition The Great Bronze Age of China, New York, 1980, pl. 73, fig. 2; and one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., published in John Alexander Pope et al., The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Washington D.C., 1967, vol. I, pl. 94. A final comparison in the Hebei Provincial Museum is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 9, Beijing, 1997, pl. 155, fig. 3. A fanghu with diagonal and bossed decoration from the Albright Knox Museum was sold in these rooms, 19th-20th March, 2007, lot 508.