Page 330 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

299 The present lot is an outstanding example of the combination of Imperial
A rare gold-splashed bronze archaistic vessel, hu and scholarly interest in Chinese archaic culture together with the
Cast Xuande seal mark, 17th/18th century confidence and ostentation of high Qing production. In its form, the
Heavily cast in the shape of an archaic hu vase, the bulbous body raised hu vase dates back to the archaic ritual bronzes of the Shang Dynasty.
on a flaring foot and cast with four recessed panels on each flattened The gilt-splash style of decoration was known to have been made in
side around diamond-shaped bosses, all beneath a plain band with a considerable quantities in the late Ming Dynasty, and it may be that the
single flange at the centre of each side and flanked by handles with style developed as the result of an interest in archaism, either because
stylised scrolls beneath the high neck, the vase splashed liberally with gold splashes were found on some archaic vessels, or more likely
thick gilt. that uneven patination gave the appearance of gold splash to later
37cm (14½in) high connoisseurs; see the discussion by H.Moss in relation to a small gilt-
£10,000 - 15,000 splashed hu vase in Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Hong Kong, 1986,
HK$120,000 - 180,000 CNY94,000 - 140,000 no.160.

十七/十八世紀 銅灑金雙耳瓶 陽文「宣德年製」篆書款 Late Ming pieces however tend to be more modest in scale, and bold,
monumental pieces such as the present lot suggest manufacture during
Provenance: an English private collection the Qianlong period; see, for example, a related ring-handled hu vase
The base with an old typed label reading: Exhibited 1904 C.S.M. from the Saint Louis Art Museum illustrated by P.K.Hu., Later Chinese
Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E.Kresko Collection,
來源：英國私人收藏 Saint Louis, 2008, no.27.
底部標籤: Exhibited 1904 C.S.M.
Compare a related gilt-splashed ring-handled hu dated to the 17th
century and slightly smaller (30.5cm high), formerly in the collection of
Thomas Barlow Barker, which sold at Sotheby’s New York, 20 March
2012, lot 79.

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