A VERY RARE TURQUOISE-INLAID MINIATURE GOLD VASE HAN DYNASTY/SIX DYNASTIES

worked in the form of a hu-shaped vase, the body, neck and everted foot elaborately decorated with a finely applied pattern of volutes, lozenges and scrolls formed of gold wire edged with granulation, interspersed with teardrop-shaped cloisons for inlay with some retaining their original turquoise inlays, a short chain rising from a pair of loop handles set on the shoulders

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 16.

Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 9, an exhibition touring the United States and shown also at nine other museums.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 16.

Zhang Linsheng, 'Zhongguo gudai di jingjin gongyi', The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, no. 14, 1984, p. 54, fig. 9.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 15.

The vase is in very good overall condition. The lid is probably missing and the neck has slightly sunk in to one side (visible in the illustration). There is a slight dent to the rim of the base and there is a ring of granulation to the inside of the foot ring and what may be characters underneath some residue.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The technique of granulation was shaped and adapted under the influence of the gold-working traditions of the nomads of the grasslands during the Han dynasty as a number of superbly made miniature ornaments in the form of stoves, animals or vases found in high-ranking tombs of the Han Dynasty demonstrate, see Yang Boda, 'Ancient Chinese Cultures of Gold Jewellery and Ornamentation', Arts of Asia, vol. 38, no. 2, March-April 2008, pp. 100-102; compare a pair of miniature vases attributed to the Eastern Han dynasty and similarly decorated with granulation and turquoise inlay, illustrated in Simon Kwan and Sun Ji, Chinese Gold Ornaments, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 116.