A CLOISONNE ENAMEL ARCHER'S VASE

16TH CENTURY

细节

A CLOISONNE ENAMEL ARCHER'S VASE
16th century
The squat globular section decorated with lotus flower-heads on a dark blue ground above a band of brick-red leafy lappets, the tall cylindrical neck with a collar of palmette leaves below floral scrolls divided by two short tubular ears, minor infills
6 in. (15 cm.) high

拍品专文

The archer's vase, touhu, was used for a party game and can be traced back to pre-Buddhist times. The aim was to throw the highest number of arrows into the two cylindrical 'handles', and the loser of the game was punished by having to drain a beaker of wine. Han dynasty reliefs depict this game, and porcelain vases of this form can be found during the Southern Song dynasty. Compare the very similar cloisonn vase of this form in the in the Uldry Collection, Rietberg Museum, Zrich, Catalogue no.17, where it is dated to the first half of the 15th Century, together with a pair of arrow vases decorated with grape vines, no.32, dated to the second half of the 15th Century.