A COPPER-INLAID BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, HU

WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 8)

Details

A COPPER-INLAID BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, HU
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 8)
The pear-shaped body is encircled by three bands cast in relief and inlaid in copper, as is the band encircling the flared mouth above a copper-inlaid sawtooth band on the neck. The shoulder is flanked by a pair of taotie masks suspending loose rings. The bronze has a milky green patina, and some areas of encrustation inside and out.
12 in. (30.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, 19 November 1982, lot 118.
The C.C. Wang Family Collection; Sotheby's New York, 27 November 1990, lot 53.

Literature

Annette Juliano, Bronze, Clay and Stone: Chinese Art in the C.C. Wang Family Collection, Seattle and London, 1988, pl. 10.

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Lot Essay

A similar copper-inlaid bronze hu in the Sen'oku Hakkokan, dated to the 4th century BC, is illustrated by J. So in Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1995, p. 281, fig. 50.1, where the author notes that the copper inlay was applied to the clay molds before the bronze was poured. Similar copper-inlaid bands and chevrons can also be seen on a he dated to the mid-Warring States period, 5th century BC, illustrated by L. d'Argencé, Bronze Vessels of Ancient China in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, p. 131, pl. LVII (upper right).

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