A BRONZE LIBATION VESSEL, JUE LATE MING DYNASTY

cast with deep rounded sides supported on three cabriole legs, each decorated with a mythical beast mask at the top, the exterior with a pair of taotie masks against a leiwen ground, the loop handle on one side issuing from a bovine head, all below a band comprising 'T'-shaped symbols bordering the mouthrim formed by a spout and rounded tail, all surmounted by a pair of vertical posts capped by baluster tops, the surface patinated to a warm dark brown colour

Ulrich Hausmann, ‘Anmerkungen zur Problematik des Archaismus der späteren chinesischen Bronzen’, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst, Mitteilungen Nr. 5, Berlin, 1993, pl. 20.