A rare inscribed and dated archaistic bronze vessel, fu Yuan dynasty, dated to the bingzi year of the Zhiyuan reign (1276 or 1336) | 元 1276或1336年 銅簠

The inscription on the base of this vessel records it being made for use in the Wenchang Academy during the Yuan dynasty. We know that in the first year of the Yuan dynasty, the Emperor ordered the construction or revival of Confucian temples across the country where local governors could advocate Confucian values, regulations and ethics. ions. In 1370, it was decreed that such sets of bronze ritual vessels made for private use could only be made in pottery, while ritual vessels made for state temples and academies could be made in silver and bronze, see Michel Maucuer, Bronzes des la Chine Imperiale des Song aux Qing, Paris, 2016, pp. 23 and 24. While archaistic bronze ritual vessels are not uncommon, bronze ritual vessels documented to have been made for use in local academies and temples such as the present example are extremely rare. A vessel of this type and design known as the Zhou Shu Bang Fu fu is illustrated in one of the earliest catalogues of antiquities, the Bo gu tu, compiled by Wang Fu (1079-1126) during the Northern Song, and may have served as a direct model for the present piece. Related examples of 15th century date include a bronze fu in the collection of the Musee Cernuschi, Paris, published in Michel Maucuer, Bronzes des la Chine Imperiale des Song aux Qing, Paris, 2016, pp. 36 and 37, cat. no. 5, and a