AN ARCHAIC RITUAL BRONZE EWER 'HE'

Description:

China, possibly Eastern Zhou dynasty, 481-256 B.C.
H. 26,5 cm
Bronze cast in several parts with uniform grey-green, grainy patina and incrustations, the handle in the shape of a stretched tiger behind the bird-shaped spout.
From the Zeileis collection, assembled in the 1980s and 90s
Cf. William Watson: Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962/77, pl. 51b
Published in: Friedrich Georg Zeileis, 'Von Shang bis Qing, Dreieinhalb Jahrtausende Chinesische Bronze', Gallspach, 1999, no. 96, pp. 274-275 - Traces of age