Page 99 - China's Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert H.CIague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900

A FTER C O N S T R I C T I N G TO SET OFF THE DIMINUTIVE BASE, the walls
/ _ \ of this handsome fanghu, or square hu, expand to shape the bulging
JL M^ body and then reverse themselves, the shoulders sloping inward to
form the neck; a short, vertical lip set atop the gently flaring neck echoes the
low foot. Cast separately and attached with rivets, handles in the form of
stylized elephant heads appear at the base of the neck at right and left;
the wear in the inlay below the handles confirms that the elephants' curled-
under trunks once supported moveable rings, now lost. Each side of this
fanghu sports three taotie masks inlaid in fine silver wire, a principal mask
on the swollen body with subsidiary masks above and below. Large C-horns
dominate the principal masks; representing the pupil, a small, non-concen-
tric circle within the iris distinguishes the eyes of the principal masks on this
vase. A band of interlocked T's borders the lip, mirroring a similar band on
the foot. Treated after casting, the exterior has assumed an understated,
gunmetal gray surface (with earthen undertones) that harmonizes with the
silver inlays. Their golden brown surfaces untreated, the interior of the vessel
and the underside of the foot are plain, though the deeply recessed, flat base
bears a two-character mark in lishu (clerical script) inlaid in silver wire.
The two-character mark asserts that this small vase was made by
Shisou, the elusive late Ming or Qing craftsman who reputedly excelled in
producing silver-inlaid bronzes for the scholar's studio. Lacking reliable
evidence about his style and dates, Shisou's authorship neither can be
confirmed nor refuted. It should be noted, however, that this vase not only
corresponds to the traditional description of Shisou's style [compare 16],
it typifies the work associated with his name. Though not so elegant in its
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calligraphic style as some Shisou marks, the two clerical-script characters
inlaid on the base of this vessel are of the type virtually always associated
with Shisou-manner bronzes. Probably a water container for the scholar's
desk, this small vase derives from a late Bronze Age fanghu wine jar; in
fact, its elongated pear-shaped body signals its descent from a Han-
dynasty example 2 rather than from the high-shouldered Warring States
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version. The artist of this vase streamlined its form by moving the handles
upward to the base of the neck, by substituting a low, platform base for
the tall, angular foot of late Bronze Age examples, and by integrating the
small base into the organic flow of the vessel's profile. Even the flattened,
windswept elephant-head handles reflect the streamlined style, their
vertical stripes echoing the outlines of the C-horns that crown the taotie
mask below. The vase finds counterparts in lacquerware from the late
Ming and early Qing periods, such as the black lacquer fanghu vase with

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