Lot 31. A rare lacquered-wood ear cup, er bei, Warring States period 4th/3rd century BC; The cup: 18.9cm long.The stand: 22.5cm high. (2). Sold for €14,080. © Bonhams 2001-2024

Of elliptical form, with deep rounded sides rising from a flat base, flanked by a pair of 'butterfly-wing' shaped handles, the interior lacquered red, with a band of stylized bird's head motifs in black around the interior and exterior rim and the ears, the exterior and base lacquered black, together with a lacquered wood stand of circular shape raised on a tall foot and circular base, painted overall with geometric scrollwork in red and black lacquer.

Provenance: An European private collection.

Note: A very similar lacquered wood ear cup was discovered in tomb no.1 in the Warring States cemetery at Wangshan, Jiangling, Hubei province, and is illustrated in Jiangling Wangshan Shazhong Chu mu, Beijing, 1996, col.pl.3, no.1, together with another example from tomb no.2 at Wangshan, illustrated ibid., pl.76, no.3. Compare also with a lacquered wood ear cup sold in Christie's New York, 23 March 2023, lot 806. Another example is illustrated by James C.Y. Watt and Barbara Brennan Ford, East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, p.17, no.3

Bonhams. CHINESE ART, Paris, 12 June 2024