Page 28 - Christie's Important Chinese Art Nov 3 2020 London

spout, and each lacks a cover, so they are less closely
related to the present vessel than the three discussed
above. In addition, a display of miniature vessels
in the recently opened Shanxi Bronze Museum in
Taiyuan features bronzes of several different shapes,
including four liuding, of which two have trough-like
spouts and two have animal-head spouts and thus
are closely akin to the present vessel; the liuding
vessels featured in the display all lack covers.

More distantly related to the present liuding, the
eighth-century, covered, spouted vessel excavated
from Rui-state tomb M26 at Liangdaicun, Hancheng,
Shaanxi province rests on a conical base with
triangular perforations, and it has large, vertically
set handles that project laterally from the vessel’s
belly. The spout is trough-shaped, but a flat element
extends outward from the lid to cover the spout and
then turns downward at a ninety-degree angle to
conceal and protect the outer end of the spout. The
spout cover boasts a low-relief animal mask, perhaps
a feline face or perhaps that of a mythical beast
descended from a taotie mask. This vessel-and-cover
set suggests the possibility that other liuding vessels
with trough-shaped spouts—but without covers
today—originally might have had covers of this type.

The only example known outside of China and still
in private hands, the present liuding represents a
rare vessel type that was produced for only a short
period time, from the late Western Zhou into the
early Spring and Autumn period. Moreover, it belongs
to a category of miniature vessels which, though
few in number, have long been known but have only
recently attracted scholarly interest. Although most
miniature vessels relate to full-size, conventional
ritual bronzes in shape, style, and decorative motifs,
liuding vessels seem to occur only in miniature—and
thus lack standard-size counterparts—lending them
special intrigue regarding their meaning, function,
and significance. Exceptionally well cast and in
excellent condition, this liuding compares favorably
with kindred examples excavated in Shanxi province
and relates closely to vessels produced at Houma; in
fact, it ranks among the most handsome and most
elaborately decorated of such vessels.