口徑：9.8厘米 （3 7⁄8 吋） 底徑：13.1厘米 （5 1⁄8 吋） 通高：31厘米 （12 1⁄4 吋）Diam. at mouth： 9.8 cm （3 7⁄8 in.） Diam. at base： 13.1 cm （5 1⁄8 in.） Overall height： 31 cm （12 1⁄4 in.）

Literature：
China Guardian， Chinese Bronzes in the Collection of Zhu’s Jiu Ru Yuan， 2016， p.82
Shanghai Museum， The Legacy of Chu Chong-yee： Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Jiu Ru Yuan Collection， Shanghai， Shanghai Cishu Press， 2017 ， no. 50
Provenance：
Collection of Chu’s Jiu Ru Yuan， acquired in the 1980s， Hong Kong

Exhibited：
Chinese Bronzes in the Collection of Zhu’s Jiu Ru Yuan， 28th-31st May 2016， Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

This wine vessel has a flared mouth， round rim， short neck， bulging belly and ring foot. Slightly convex， the cover is cast with three equidistant loop lugs in the form of a perching bird. Clustering around these birds are six stylized fowls with S-shaped bills and slender coiling bodies. Above them are six stylized birds in flight. The only undecorated part of the cover is a disc in the centre.

The body is divided into four segments by undecorated bands at the junction of the neck and the shoulders， that of the shoulders and the belly， and just under the belly. The neck and lower belly are covered with stylized animal masks. Provided with a pair of knocker-like rings， the shoulders are decorated with four side-by-side hunting scenes in which warriors armed with swords are aiming their arrows at deer in various postures. The upper belly is decorated with combat scenes between hunters and animals in the upper tier and those between deities and birdmen in the lower one. Together， the shoulders and upper belly account for about three quarters of the surface of the body.

The cover and the body are separately cast. On the body are four vertical mould join marks. On closer examination， decoration techniques differ from part to part. While the cover， neck and lower belly are in relief as is commonly seen， the background on the shoulders and upper belly is chiseled off to set off the hunting scenes in low relief， which makes the present lot all the more exceptional.

Price estimate:
HKD: 600,000 - 800,000
USD: 77,600 - 103,400

Auction Result:
HKD: 967,600