An archaistic gold and silver-inlaid bronze square vase, Ming dynasty

Gerard Hawthorn Ltd., London, 1999.

Oriental Works of Art, Gerard Hawthorn Ltd. Oriental Art, London, 1999, cat. no. 21.

Pieces of this type decorated with complex archaistic designs of gold and silver inlay are notoriously difficult to date; the earliest likely produced in the Song dynasty. Compare three small vessels of this type in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, pl. 40,