A rare archaic inscribed bronze vessel, he. Mid Spring and Autumn Period

The well-rounded vessel rising from three udder-shaped legs ending on a tall flaring neck with everted mouth rim, applied with a long, curving handle emanating from the side of the vessel and terminating in a dragon's head with oversized spiralling eyes, a scrolling snout and a curling horn, with a long inscription below the rim, the bronze with a natural pale green patina. 23cm (9in) high. Sold for £14,400

Note: The inscription on the vessel reads:
Huang zuo X X xing qi yong bao bao ling hou 黄作XX行器永宝宝灵后；and is translated as: Huang made XX (personal name, undeciphered) this ritual vessel, and will forever treasure such precious object that has blessings for the descendants.

A very similar but smaller example excavated in 1978 from Lujing county, Anhui Province, is illustrated in Anhui Sheng Bowuguan, no.16. See also He, Selected Bronzes in the Collection of the Poly Art Museum, p.212-215, for a decorated example inscribed Jin; and Ma, Study on Wu and Yue Bronze Area, fig.23, p.224, for an example of similar shape but with different handle. Colin Mackenzie illustrates a vessel lacking the cup-shaped mouth in The Evolution of Southern Bronze Styles in China During the Eastern Zhou Period, fig.52, p.47, excavated from tomb G2 at Baoxiangsi in Guangshan xian, and notes that 'A different type of he characterised by spout and handles aligned at right angles, and derived from local pottery models produced as early as the Neolithic, began to appear in bronze during early Eastern Zhou over a wide region encompassing south-eastern Henan, Anhui, eastern Hubei, Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang' (ibid. p.46).

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 14 May 2009. New Bond Street www.bonhams.com