Page 40 - Bonhams May 2022 Arrow Vases

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A VERY RARE BRONZE ARROW VASE, TOUHU
12th-13th century
The compressed globular body cast with three mythical beast-masks
each suspending a loose ring handle, alternating with finely cast
mythical beast masks all reserved on a leiwen ground, the shoulders
cast in relief with a band of lotus petals and a beaded border of the
Eight Trigrams encircled by a classic-scroll, surmounted by tall neck
divided into four main sections by bands and flanked by a pair of
high-relief chilong clambering upwards, the mid-section decorated
with archaistic stylised dragons between various diaper grounds, the
top section with a taotie mask on each side, flanked by a pair of lug
handles cast with diaper-patterns below a classic-scroll, all raised on a
spreading foot cast with a border of crashing waves.
40.4cm (15 7/8in) high, 5.3kg.

HKD70,000 - 100,000
US$8,900 - 13,000
十二至十三世紀 銅螭龍錦地三鋪首投壺

Provenance:
The Brian Harkins Collection
來源：
布萊恩·哈金斯珍藏

The archaistic kui dragon scrolls and the diaper ground of the present 壺口方唇，兩側鑄貫耳，頸部紋飾分三層，上層飾仿古蟠夔紋，中層
lot are typical designs from the Southern Song to Yuan dynasty under 飾回紋錦地，下層飾菱花錦地，頸部上段鑄二螭龍分攀兩面，肩部
the influence of archaism. Compare a related silver censer, Southern 內圈飾高浮雕仰蓮紋一圈，中間飾八卦紋並連珠紋一周，外圈飾卷草
Song dynasty, with similar pattern unearthed in Yiwu, Zhejiang, which 紋，圓鼓腹鑄三獨角獸首銜環，其間飾饕餮紋，下腹飾高浮雕仰蓮
is illustrated by the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in the Zhongxing 紋，束腰，圈足外撇，足壁飾雲水紋一周。
Jisheng: Nansong Fengwu Guanzhi (Achievements of Southern Song
Dynasty Material Art), Beijing, 2015, p.175. 此壺仿古蟠夔紋及菱花錦地為南宋至元代典型紋飾。此壺蟠夔紋可比
較浙江義烏出土一件南宋銀樽式爐之紋飾，見浙江省博物館編，《中
See also closely related archaistic 'dragon' scrolls on two vases, 12th- 興紀勝: 南宋風物觀止》，北京，2015年，頁175。
14th century, as well as the related wave design on a bronze vase,
dated by inscription to 1173, all in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
London, illustrated by R.Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990,
pp.47 and 58, nos.35, 36 and 46.

38 | BONHAMS