A pair of gold-splashed bronze vases, 17th / 18th century | 十七 / 十八世紀 銅灑金螭龍耳瓶一對

Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 2nd-3rd June 1976, lot 316.

Acquired by the grandfather of the present owner from the above, and thence by descent.

蘇富比Parke Bernet，紐約，1976年6月2至3日，編號316

現任藏家祖父購於上述處，此後家族傳承

The form of this pair of vases is based on a vessel type developed during the late Shang dynasty, with a characteristic double-handled and narrow-neck shape. Known as lei, these vessels were frequently decorated with handles in the form of real or mythical animals and had horizontal rings around the body. Archaistic vessels with gold-splashed decoration were made in considerable quantities during the late Ming period, and novel iterations continued to be developed during the Qing dynasty.

Compare a similar pair of archaistic lei sold first in our London rooms, 16th May 2012, lot 158, and later at Christie's Hong Kong, 25th November 2014, lot 3388. See a slightly larger example sold first in these rooms, 18th March 2014, lot 368, and subsequently in our London rooms, 17th May 2019, lot 437. Two further examples of this type, with abstract chilong handles to the shoulder, include two sold in our London rooms, the first, 17th October 1978, lot 128; the second, 11th December 1990, lot 44.