LATE SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD, 6TH CENTURY BC

Details

A VERY RARE SMALL BRONZE RITUAL VESSEL AND COVER, JIAN
LATE SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD, 6TH CENTURY BC
The tapered body and canted shoulder are flat-cast with bands of fine interlocked dragons below the short neck and widely everted rim, and there are four small animal mask and ring handles on the edge of the shoulder which are repeated on the similarly decorated cover below the handle. The interior of the cover is cast in relief in the center with two circling lizards. The patina is of warm gold color with areas of malachite and azurite encrustation.
6½ in.(16.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong, 14 March 1994.

Sale room notice

Please note the dating in Chinese for this lot is incorrect.

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Lot Essay

A jian and cover of similar shape, but with the design cast in relief, is illustrated by J. So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1995, p. 19, fig. 11. According to So, the shouldered jian shape originates in Henan. Another jian, but without a cover, and with larger ring handles, is illustrated by T. Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period, Freer Gallery of Art, 1982, p. 37. The lizards cast in relief on the interior of the cover that form a whorl pattern are a very unusual feature.

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