A CHINESE GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE TWO-HANDLED 'CHILONG' BOWL

£1,000 - £2,000

A CHINESE GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE TWO-HANDLED 'CHILONG' BOWL
17TH CENTURY

1.14kg, 21.5cm.

From the collection of Hinton Daniell Stewart (1835-1926) of Strathgarry, Perthshire, and thence by descent.

Raised on a straight foot to a flared rim, flanked by a pair of sinuous chilong with bifurcated tails forming the loop handles, the exterior with a brown patina decorated with irregular gold splashes, the base with a six-character Xuande mark within a recessed rectangle.

The origin of gold-splashed decorations on Chinese bronzes remains uncertain. G Tsang and H Moss, in their book Arts from the Scholar's Studio, p.184, suggest that this decorative technique may have gained popularity due to the influence of Xuande bronzes from the Ming dynasty, where the gold splashes resulted from the vessel's uneven surface patination.