An exceptional and rare archaic bronze wine vessel (Hu), Eastern Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period | 東周 春秋 青銅交龍紋壺

Acquired in Hong Kong in the 1980s.

Sotheby's New York, 21st-22nd September 2005, lot 151. 

1980年代購於香港

紐約蘇富比2005年9月21至22日，編號151

This bronze hu is a magnificent example of the flamboyant style of bronze vessels that gained immense popularity in the Eastern Zhou period. The intricate pattern on this piece is extraordinary, showcasing the virtuosity of the casters of the time. Although many of the bronze forms originated in the Shang dynasty, starting from the Spring and Autumn period, shapes became more complex and designs more extravagant. More impressive and creative vessels were produced to suit the various demands of the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. In design and ornamentation, this hu recalls vessels created at the Jin State Foundry in Houma, Shanxi province. 

Vessels decorated in this ambitious and opulent style are exceedingly rare. Compare a closely related bronze hu with a very similar design, together with an inscribed cover decorated with large outward-flaring lappets, from the collection of A.E.K. Cull, published in Rong Geng, Shangzhou yiqi tongkao / The Bronzes of Shang and Chou, vol. II, Beiping, 1941, pl. 743, and again in William Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962, pl. 55. Another close example is an impressive hu vessel from the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., illustrated in George W. Wener, Jr., The Ornaments of Late Chou Bronzes. A Method of Analysis, New Jersey, 1973, pl. 76. See also a covered example of a slightly compressed form, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2001, lot 762.

A pair of copper-inlaid bronze hu, each cast with a very similar design of interwound dragons and taotie masks but divided by narrow bands of raised animal motifs instead of braided ropes, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in Chen Peifen, Xiashangzhou qingtongqi yanjiu [Study of archaic bronzes from Shang, Shang and Zhou dynasties], Dongzhou vol. 1, Shanghai, 2004, p. 514. Another covered hu of a similar form, decorated with an elaborate design of mythical animals, from the Avery Brundage Collection, in the de Young Museum, San Francisco, is published in Charles D. Weber, Chinese Pictorial Bronze Vessels of the Late Chou Period, Ascona, 1968, fig. 51. A further example of a similar form but simpler design and a pair of ring handles, was sold at Christie's New York, 18th September 1997, lot 121.