AN ARCHAIC BRONZE FOOD VESSEL AND COVER, FOU

WARRING STATES PERIOD

Details

AN ARCHAIC BRONZE FOOD VESSEL AND COVER, FOU
Warring States Period
The elegant globular body with numerous narrow flutes interrupted by a plain recessed band around the shoulder, flanked by two taotie masks suspending finely incised loose ring handles, the slightly domed cover decorated with a band of S-scrolls around the external vertical rim, the surface with three coiled snakes encircling a central loop, all supported on three short cabriole legs issuing from monster masks with horns and a curled snout, with areas of malachite encrustation
8.3/8in. (21.3cm.) wide

Lot Essay

A pair of vessels of similar form with fluted decoration but supported on a cylindrical foot, as opposed to three cabriole legs, as in the present vessel, were included in the exhibition, This-Life and The After-Life, Gisle Cros, Mastricht-New York, March 1996, Catalogue, p. 86

It is unusual to find ritual vessels with this form of ribbed design. For a hu and cover with similar fluted sides, also arranged in two, broad horizontal bands, from the Spring and Autumn Period, see the example illustrated in the Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, November 30, 1990 - February 10, 1991, Catalogue, no. 185