AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL TRIPOD VESSEL AND COVER, DING


Spring and Autumn periodOf deep bowl shape, the rounded sides cast with a band of interlocking dragons divided by a raised fillet from a band of scrolling dragons, a pair of opposing upright loop handles set just below the rim, supported on three waisted legs each surmounted by the mask of a single-horned mythical beast, the low-domed cover cast with a loop finial and loose ring, surrounded by similar decorative bands to the body, and three evenly-spaced recumbent mythical beasts, the surfaces with light encrustation. 9 1/2in (24.2cm) high
|春秋 青銅交龍紋獨角牛蓋鼎Provenance:The Collection of Mark S. Pratt; purchased in Taipei, 1959 For similar examples, see one in the collection of the Shanghai Museum illustrated by Chen Peifen, Xia Shang Zhou qingtongqi yanjiu, vol. 6, Eastern Zhou, Shanghai, 2004, p. 406, no. 610; another dated late Spring and Autumn period, late 6th-early 5th century BC, North Central China, Shanxi-Henan provinces and illustrated in Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, pp. 146-49, no. 17; and one which was sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2018, lot 1118.