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Lot Essay
Acquired in July 1993 by the present owner.
This hu compares very well to one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, illustrated by Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. III, New York, 1995, fig. 53. So explains, on p. 40, that the Freer hu was produced by Houma crafsmen who "Revived the Shang taotie (but with a difference!), combining its frontal symmetry with the flowing continuous interlace of late Western Zhou patterns. They added textural variety, a sixth-century characteristic, by using Shang leiwen in a new way, to detail the decor motifs instead of the background. Dense interlace with overlapping elements raised in low relief, and realistic accents such as feathers and scales further enhance the inherited motifs, creating complex, fantastic creatures and patterns". Compare also to a bronze hu in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Shanghai Renming meishu chubanshi, Shanghai Museum Collection of Bronzes, 1964, pl. 73; and to another from the A.E.K. Cull Collection, now in the British Museum, illustrated by William Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962, pl. 55 and again in The Arts of China to AD 900, Yale University Press, 1995, fig. 80. Watson dates the 'Cull hu' to between 482 and 460 B.C. The same hu is published again by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Bronzes, Art and Ritual, London, 1987, pl. 34, where she states that it is one of a pair and that "the hu belongs to a fairly advanced stage, in which engaging taotie faces ... were added to layered interlace".
The pierced lappet panels and tiger handles are features that can be seen on other early 5th century B.C. bronzes, such as the hu from the Tomb of the Marquis of Cai in Anhui, illustrated op. cit., pl. 54a; and a more elaborate example also dating to the the same period from Xinzheng County, Henan Province, now in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing, and illustrated in Treasures, 300 Best Excavated Antiques from China, p. 174.
This hu compares very well to one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, illustrated by Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. III, New York, 1995, fig. 53. So explains, on p. 40, that the Freer hu was produced by Houma crafsmen who "Revived the Shang taotie (but with a difference!), combining its frontal symmetry with the flowing continuous interlace of late Western Zhou patterns. They added textural variety, a sixth-century characteristic, by using Shang leiwen in a new way, to detail the decor motifs instead of the background. Dense interlace with overlapping elements raised in low relief, and realistic accents such as feathers and scales further enhance the inherited motifs, creating complex, fantastic creatures and patterns". Compare also to a bronze hu in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Shanghai Renming meishu chubanshi, Shanghai Museum Collection of Bronzes, 1964, pl. 73; and to another from the A.E.K. Cull Collection, now in the British Museum, illustrated by William Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962, pl. 55 and again in The Arts of China to AD 900, Yale University Press, 1995, fig. 80. Watson dates the 'Cull hu' to between 482 and 460 B.C. The same hu is published again by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Bronzes, Art and Ritual, London, 1987, pl. 34, where she states that it is one of a pair and that "the hu belongs to a fairly advanced stage, in which engaging taotie faces ... were added to layered interlace".
The pierced lappet panels and tiger handles are features that can be seen on other early 5th century B.C. bronzes, such as the hu from the Tomb of the Marquis of Cai in Anhui, illustrated op. cit., pl. 54a; and a more elaborate example also dating to the the same period from Xinzheng County, Henan Province, now in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing, and illustrated in Treasures, 300 Best Excavated Antiques from China, p. 174.