Page 295 - 2019 September 11th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art

863
A LARGE PARCEL-GILT-BRONZE
‘CHILONG’ GARLIC MOUTH BOTTLE
VASE
MING DYNASTY, 16TH / 17TH
CENTURY
resting on a splayed foot and rising to a slender
columnar neck with a lobed ‘garlic head’ and
lipped rim, two sinuous dragons cast in very
high relief coiled around the shoulder and
neck, the bifurcated tails flattened against
the surface, the larger beast looking up as if
clambering upwards, the other climbing down,
the dragons partially gilt, traces of gilt cloud
whorls on the body, the base recessed
Height 18¾ in., 47.6 cm
The present vase is notable for its large size. A
smaller pair with less pronounced garlic necks
are illustrated in Rose Kerr, Later Chinese
Bronzes, London, 1990, pl. 29. Compare a
smaller vase with a smooth ‘garlic bulb’ on a tall
foot, sold in these rooms, 21st March 2015, lot
765. See also a related example cast with petals
at the rim, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 30th
November 2017, lot 497. A pair of silver wire-
inlaid examples sold at Christie’s London, 12th
May 2015, lot 304.
$ 20,000-30,000

明十六 / 十七世紀 銅局部鎏金
螭龍紋大蒜頭瓶

CHINESE ART FROM THE COLLECTION OF HENRY H. ARNHOLD 293