| OBJECT UNDER SPOTLIGHT | |
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Each month we feature a Chinese Work of Art that exhibits singularly outstanding historical and aesthetic characteristics and qualities. This month we have selected a ONE OF A PAIR OF EXTREMELY RARE SILVER INLAID ARCHAIC BRONZE VESSELS, Dou Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Warring States Period (475-221 BCE) Height: 7 ¼ inches (18.4 cm) Diameter: 7 5/8 inches (19.4 cm) |
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Each vessel stands on a tall, widely flaring foot surmounted by a wide, deep
bowl. Matching covers are surmounted with a short flaring handle, which
serves as a foot when the cover is turned over, allowing it to be used as a
dish. When covered, the vessels have a flattened globular shape with a loop
handle protruding on either side of the vessels. A pattern consisting of a
number of registers with pairs of confronting mythical dragon-like creatures
in profile, contained within two parallel silver lines, adorn the covers and
bodies of the vessels. Striding towards each other in pairs, each kicking up
a hind leg, the creatures are centered by a triangular mountain shape.
Hanging pendant on the flaring foot of each vessel, and under the last
register of creatures, as well as encircling the interior of the flaring
handle on each cover are patterns of inlaid petal-shapes decorated with a
central circle, surrounded by a graceful pattern of curliques. The patina of
the bronze is a warm reddish-brown with areas of blue, green, and red
encrustations. While the silver has a beautiful, bright luster, there are
extensive areas of oxidation. This type of inlaid design is typical of the Warring States period when inlaid vessels were first produced. A ferrule published in The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes by Li Xueqin, no. 55 has a very similar inlay style and design to the pair of dou, even though it is a much smaller fragment of a piece. A smaller, single gold inlaid dou is in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, illustrated in Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period, no. 8, and in that same reference Lawton publishes another similar single gold inlaid dou from Shansi Province with similar pendant pattern as this pair has around the flared foot of the vessel. A silver inlaid lian from the Hubei Provincial Museum is published in Treasures: 300 Best Excavated Antiques from China, no. 183. It has a similar inlay design, with double lines of silver, but lacks the clarity of animal form seen on this pair of dou. If you would like more information on Inv.#2003, please click here. |
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| View our Object Under Spotlight for Aug, 2001. Sold | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for July, 2001. | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for May, 2001. | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for March, 2001. | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for February, 2001. | |
| Object Under Spotlight for January, 2001. Sold | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for December, 2000. | |
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