A bronze Zodiac vessel

INDONESIA, EASTERN JAVA, 14TH/15TH CENTURY

Details

A bronze Zodiac vessel
Indonesia, Eastern Java, 14th/15th century
The vessel expertly cast with thin walls and two registers of auspicious images including zodiac signs, the upper rim with a beaded ring beneath the cover's lip, the top with delineated edges, the center hollow and surrounded by a beaded ring with stylized shrines in the cardinal directions
5 in. (12.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, acquired in London in 1987

Lot Essay

In contrast to the standardized Chinese or Western Zodiac figures, this vessel displays the signs of the Javanese Zodiac, which are derived from the culture's pre-Hindu customs. Other Javanese Zodiac vessels have only been found in the region of the Tengger Mountains in Eastern Java, and all date from the 14th and 15th centuries. For another example, see J. Fontein, et al, Ancient Indonesian Art of the Central and Eastern Javanese Periods, 1971, p. 115, cat. no. 87.

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