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Lot Essay
This vase was made for the game of touhu, in which the players attempted to throw arrows into the three necks of the vase. The game is an ancient one that may have begun as a drinking game, and the conduct of the game is described in the Li Ji, Book of Rites, which was written during the Warring States period, 5th-3rd century BC. The game continued to be played throughout the centuries and appears to have generated particular interest in the early part of the Ming dynasty.
A related, but taller (50 cm.), parcel-gilt bronze vase with similar flanges, dated to the 16th century, is illustrated by G. Tsang and H. Moss in the exhibition catalogue, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Oriental Ceramic Society, Hong Kong, 1986, no. 264, where the authors describe the game and also illustrate a series of 'arrow' vases from the Sancai Tuhui of 1607, p. 268, fig. 1, showing the types of archaistic vases that existed prior to the early seventeenth century including one with similar flanges.
A related, but taller (50 cm.), parcel-gilt bronze vase with similar flanges, dated to the 16th century, is illustrated by G. Tsang and H. Moss in the exhibition catalogue, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Oriental Ceramic Society, Hong Kong, 1986, no. 264, where the authors describe the game and also illustrate a series of 'arrow' vases from the Sancai Tuhui of 1607, p. 268, fig. 1, showing the types of archaistic vases that existed prior to the early seventeenth century including one with similar flanges.