A
LARGE GOLD SPLASHED BRONZE VASE (HU)
China
17th century
The archaic bronze shape hu has an ovoid
body encircled by three bands of triple raised ribs,
with a pair of taotie mask loops and loose ring
handles between the upper two - each with crisply
executed eyes and curling mane. The broad slightly
flared neck has a further band of ribs around the
rim, and all is supported on a broad splayed foot.
The vase is decorated overall with a dense pattern
of thick irregular splashes of gold - continuing
onto the base, cast with a Xuande mark.
Height: 21.25” / 54 cm
A smaller gold-splashed hu-shaped
vase with a Xuande mark was included in the exhibition
‘Arts from the Scholar’s Studio’,
Hong Kong, 1986, catalogue no. 160.
Compare: a slightly smaller
splashed hu sold at Sotheby’s,
London -12.3.82 (lot 149), and 15.11.89 (lot 563).
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