Page 14 - Bonhams May 2022 Arrow Vases

Touhu

It was Rose Kerr’s articles throughout the 1980’s, culminating vases in my collection. I started to assemble spreadsheets of
in a book about the V&A’s collection of later Chinese bronzes bronze flower vases which had the same design as a pair of
in 1990, which sparked my interest in bronzes from the Song, bronze flower vases excavated from the tomb of Huang Shi
Jin and Yuan dynasties. At that time there was considerable (d.1175) which could be dated to 1178. These pieces were
interest in “Later Chinese Bronzes”; Jessica Rawson was illustrated in a wide range of books and other publications,
buying pieces for the British Museum, and some of the London museum collections and auction catalogues, with dates
dealers and a few collectors such as Ulrich Hausmann were varying from 12th to 15th centuries. It surprised me to see
also actively buying them. These bronzes were readily available that the shapes and decoration on the vases were many
on the market but had been largely overlooked. There was very and varied, with no two alike. This built up into a catalogue
little information about them and opinions about their dating of patterns in use at the time of the Huangshi vases. With
were varied and open to interpretation. Museums had pieces in several bands of decoration of varying size, motifs could be
their storerooms but did not often exhibit them. placed in different orders, while the vases could be round,
oval or square, set on a high or low foot, and adorned with
I bought my first arrow vase (touhu) in 1983 when I was living different mask and loop, or tubular handles or, no handles at
in Edinburgh, and when I relocated to London in 1985 such all. Some of these designs appear on a few of the arrow vases
pieces turned up more often, and by the end of the decade in this collection and for the first time are offered with this early
I had amassed quite a collection. What fascinated me about dating. The decoration of arrow vases does not lend itself to all
them was that they were all individual and of many different of these designs and the shapes of the individual vases vary to
forms, vases for no other purpose than to play a game. I even reflect the stability needed to play the game. I would imagine
bought archers arrows and attached wooden balls to their tips that a Song nobleman wanting to buy a touhu would discuss
to gain an understanding of the game from the player’s point all the details with the foundry, consulting books of designs
of view. and drawings of shapes. It would be a bit like being fitted for a
bespoke suit.
I am pleased that I have kept them all this time as there has
been much more information published in the last 30 years, No doubt there will be some discussion over the re-considered
both in the West and particularly in China, where excavations dating, but I believe that further discovery and academic
have exposed dateable items. I have always had a conviction research will support this position. With the possibility that
that many of the arrow vases are older than the accepted some may even be earlier!
dating. The shift over the past few years in the dating of later
bronzes with wider acknowledgement of earlier attributions, led Brian Harkins
me to carefully look at the decorative elements on the arrow April 2022

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