Lot 70. An archaic bronze brazier, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). Length 10 1/4  in., 26 cm. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Lot sold 11,875 USD. © Sotheby's

the openwork sides of oval section case with the animals of the four cardinal directions, the longer sides with the dragon of the east and the tiger of the west,  the shorter sides with the bird of the south and the the tortoise of the north, the rectangular base with stepped bevelled edges supported on four small  crouching human figures, the curved handle with flattened terminal. 

Property from the Bella and P.P. Chiu Collection.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 11th December 1979, lot 49.

Literature: Jessica Rawson, The Bella and P.P. Chiu Collection of Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1988, no. 39.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York, 19 march 2013