Page 48 - Bonhams May 2022 Arrow Vases

10
A RARE BRONZE ARROW VASE, TOUHU
Song/Yuan Dynasty
The compressed globular body cast with a pair of
mythical beast masks, pushou, suspending loose
ring-handles, flanked on each side by flanges, all
reserved on a tumbling wave and clouds ground,
the shoulders decorated with a floral honeycomb
ground, the tall neck cast around the mid-section
with high-relief chi dragons between a key-fret
border and a floral honeycomb ground, the top
section flanked by a pair of lug-handles and
decorated with cross-hatched and honeycomb
diaper grounds, all raised on a spreading foot cast
with key-fret patterns and on the flaring section
with clouds and a character indicating the Sun, 'ri'.
45.2cm (17 3/4in) high, 5.9kg.

HKD70,000 - 100,000
US$8,900 - 13,000

宋/元 銅仿古紋獸耳投壺
Provenance:
The Brian Harkins Collection

來源：
布萊恩·哈金斯珍藏
The character 日 ri in a circle on the foot
symbolises the sun. The sun flanked by clouds
indicates that this is the rising sun, which brings a
new day and good fortune. The act of aiming at
the sun and throwing an arrow into the vase, could
be a pun for zhiri gaozhong (指日高中), literally,
'wining the first rank in the Imperial examinations
soon'. The diaper-pattern grounds on the present
vase are related to those found on Yuan dynasty
bronze vases, such as the ones illustrated by
D.Failla, Food for the Ancestors, Flowers for the
Gods, 2017, p.286, figs.6 and 7. For additional
examples, Yuan dynasty, in the British Museum,
London, see acc.nos.:1989,0523.1-2. The
'line' style decoration evident on the body and
around the foot, are also related to that seen
on bronze basins of the Song and Western Xia
dynasties. Compare with several basins in the
Henri Cernuschi collection, Song or Western Xia,
illustrated by M.Maucuer, Bronzes de la Chine
Impérialedes Song aux Qing, Paris, 2013, pl.93-
96.

壺口方唇，口沿兩側鑄貫耳，壺口以下飾菱花錦
地，再下則飾回紋一周，貫耳飾龜背紋錦地，壺
頸正中分鑄螭龍兩條，龍大頭鼓腹，長尾不分
叉，壺頸下段及肩部飾龜背紋，四出戟，兩側鑄
獅首銜環，每面飾細線陽紋雲水紋，束腰分四
面，每面飾細線陽紋雲水紋，惟一面正中鑄一「
日」字，高圈足，足圈飾回紋一周。

足圈所飾日字，加之兩邊雲彩，意即旭日初升。
投箭入此壺，便有指日高中之意。 此類錦地
紋飾廣見於元代銅壺，參考數件意大利熱那亞
國立愛德華多·基歐索尼東方藝術博物館藏元
代銅壺，見D.Failla，《Food for the Ancestors
Flowers for the Gods》，熱那亞，2017年，
頁286，圖6及7；以及大英博物館藏一件元代
銅壺，館藏編號1989,0523.1-2。其細紋陽線
可參考數件巴黎賽奴奇亞洲博物館藏宋代及
西夏銅盆，其紋飾便如此件皆以細線陽紋勾
勒，見M.Maucuer著，《Bronzes de la Chine
Impérialedes Song aux Qing》，巴黎，2013
年，圖版93-96。
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