A LARGE COPPER-INLAID BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL AND COVER (HU) EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, WARRING STATES PERIOD |

the ovoid body rising from a slightly splayed foot to a waisted neck, set at the shoulder with a pair of beast-mask handles, each suspending a loose ring, the exterior inlaid in copper with seven registers, rising sequentially as a frieze of confronting pairs of antlered deer flanked by addorsed pairs of long-tailed birds, confronting sinuous dragons flanked by scrolls, stylized taotie flanked by scrolling kuilong, confronting pairs of writhing dragons, and two registers of confronting mythical birds with coiling tails, the domed cover with further pairs of birds divided by four upright hooked ring finials, the vessel and cover with areas of heavy malachite encrustation (2)

Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (1929-2014), no. B3202.
Sotheby's New York, 19th March 2002, lot 28.

Approximately a third of the body extending to the foot is rebuilt and repatinated, with an associated horizontal crack that has been consolidated, measuring approx. 16 cm. One handle is likely replaced and the other is also possibly replaced. The upper body with two vertical rim cracks and a horizontal crack, all consolidated. The base with a U-shaped restored crack extending to smaller associated cracks, and the foot rim also with several consolidated cracks. The cover with a restored crack to the rim and a few consolidated cracks to the inner rim. The surface with general wear, losses to the inlay, and pitting. X-Ray available upon request.
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.

Compare closely related hu of this type, with the design similarly laid out in seven registers, such as one, lacking the cover, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from the Havemeyer Collection, exhibited in Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993, pl. 160; and another, in the Art Institute of Chicago, from the Buckingham Collection, published in Charles F. Kelley and Ch'en Meng-chia, Chinese Bronzes from the Buckingham Collection, Chicago, 1946, pl. LIX; one with the cover, in the Fujii Yurinkan Collection, Kyoto, illustrated in Weber, ibid., fig. 37a (line drawing).