Page 244 - 2019 October Important Chinese Art Sotheby's Hong Kong

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A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE VASE 清十七至十八世紀
QING DYNASTY, 17TH – 18TH CENTURY
銅灑金舖首銜環耳瓿式爐
of bu form, sturdily cast with an ovoid body rising from a
flat base to a waisted neck and everted rim, the shoulder
flanked by a pair of loop handles, each modelled in the form
of a mythical beast mask, the well-patinated surface with
attractive gold splashes
20.2 cm, 7⅞ in.

HK$ 150,000-250,000
US$ 19,200-31,900

Gold splashed vases of this form appear to be an early Qing
innovation. See a related ovoid form vessel, cast with a six-
character Kangxi reign mark on its base, illustrated in Robert
D. Mowry, China’s Renaissance in Bronze, Phoenix, 1994, pl.
34, from the Robert H. Clague collection. See also a gold-
splashed archaistic vase decorated with dragons, illustrated
in The Minor Arts of China, Spink & Son Ltd, London, 1983,
p. 40, no. 51, and sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 137,
from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat collection.

242 SOTHEBY ’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART