QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The shape of these ewers is based on earlier bronze prototypes, such as the bronze he found in Beijing, illustrated in Wenwu, 1982:9, p. 36, fig. 2, no. 5, and again p. 43, fig. 49. Although the body of the present he is more rounded, the vessels have similar legs and domed cover, as well as an animal mask at the top of the handle. A woodblock print of a bronze he of this type, with taotie masks on the body, is illustrated in Xiqing Gujian, originally compiled in 1749, vol. 31, no. 33.
The present ewers may also be compared to Qing dynasty blue and white examples, such as the ewer and cover in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book II, Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 21, which is dated to the Qianlong period.