31 cm. （12 1/4 in.） high

Sun Su An Collection ­- Property from an Important Japanese Private Collection

Provenance：
The So Ken An Collection, property belonging to Mr. Jyutaro Matsumoto （1844-1913）, the owner of the Kyushu Electric Railroad Company
Tokyo Bijutsu Club Auction, The So Ken An Collection, 1933, lot 222

Literature：
Tokyo Bijutsu Club Auction catalogue for the So Ken An collection, 1933, no. 222

The Warring States period was an era of conflict and turmoil where various states ruled by powerful clans competed for the supreme ruling authority in China. With the rise of powerful military states came also the emergence of immensely wealthy and influential noble classes and powerful warlords, who demanded for lavish luxury goods to furnish the tombs for their afterlife and also to flaunt to their competitive peers. Archaic bronze vessels were made by special commission of the ruling elite from the Warring States period up to the Han dynasty, which enabled the flourishing of artistic traditions and the development of a stable industry of metalwork productions which features an array of ritual vessels of various shape and sizes. The present lot is a quintessential example of the highest quality bronze vessels produced for the most exalted classes of Han dynasty elites.

The complexity of the highly decorative inlay present in this vessel marks it as a masterful example of Han dynasty bronze design and technology. It is most certainly made for the elite, as the vessel is further accentuated with a large amount of costly gold and silver inlays represented in three bands of geometric patterns framed within a band of downward leaf lappets at the rim and another band of spirals at the foot, completely transforming a previously austere tradition into a high artistic craft meant to impress the viewer. The impressive size of the present lot, including the finely cast pair of taotie handles, were the epitome of ostentation during that era, as there was no better way to demonstrate wealth than to reproduce a luxury item in a more expensive medium.

Archaic bronze vases in the shape hu dating to the Han dynasty are rare, especially rare with gold and silver inlays. Compare a rare example of archaic bronze hu decorated with gold and silver-inlaid decoration （accession no.933.12.36） dated to the first-half of the 5th century BC in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, illustrated by Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, figs.74 & 75. See also another archaic bronze hu, ornamented with spiral and cloud pattern in gold and silver inlays dated to the Warring States period in the collection of Fujii Yurin-kan Museum, Kyoto, illustrated in Nihon Shu–cho Shina Kodo– Seika. Vol.5, Osaka, 1933, no.396.

Compare a related plain archaic bronze vase, hu also with taotie handles suspending rings but with cast with a nice-character inscription at the base relating to longevity and wealth dated to the Han dynasty in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Du Naisong （ed.）, The Palace Museum’s Essential Collections. Bronzeware from the Shang to Jin Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2015, p.209, no.128； and another example also of similar form, but gilt-decorated, dating to the Han dynasty in the Qing Court Collection, op.cit., p.211, no.130.

The Japanese box for the present lot is inscribed with an evaluation by Hata Zouroku.

Sun Su an collection ­- Property from an important japanese private collection （Lots 316-323）

Price estimate:
HKD: 2, 500, 000 - 3, 500, 000
USD: 320, 500 - 448, 700

Auction Result:
HKD: --