Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

A RARE CHINESE BRONZE ARCHAISTIC ALTAR VASE
HONGZHI 1488-1505

The pear-shaped body raised on a high foot with a stepped edge beneath a long waisted neck with a splayed lipped rim, flanked by two loop handles issuing from mythical beast masks, with bands of leiwen decoration to the neck and foot, all with traces of gilding and black inlay, the foot with a six-character inscription reading Kunyang Zhou mile si, the metal with a deep olive-brown patina, 4.7kg, 40cm.

Provenance: previously, a private English collection, Gloucestershire.

The imposing shape of the present lot with its high foot and elaborate handles detailed with prominent animal masks would have made it an appropriate piece for display on a temple altar. This vase would probably have featured as part of a five-piece set comprising two candle holders, a pair of flower vases and an incense burner. Bronze was a particularly prized material and pieces of high quality, as seen here, were generally used on altars in prominent temples and the family shrines of the elite. A slightly smaller example with drop rings to the handles also dated to the Hongzhi period can be seen in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum, accession no.16:2005, illustrated in PK Hu, Later Chinese Bronzes: the Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E Kresko Collections, pp.32-35, no.4.

明弘治 銅獸耳瓶
來源：英國格羅斯特郡私人收藏。