Bronze Vessel hu with Animal Cover & Handle, China, presumably Eastern Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period (7th-5th century BC). Estimate 20 000 € / 26 000 €. Photo Auctionata AG

Ritual vessel HU (gourd pot) cast in the shape of a calabash - The body adorned with three revolving bands of beads and a meander border below the upper rim - The single handle in the shape of a dragon and the cover in the shape of a bird-like mythical creature - The base and neck with inscriptions - The surface with blackish green and red-brown lacquer patina - Height: c. 42.5 cm - Weight: c. 2,700 grams - Good condition consistent with age 

Provenance: Property of a French noble man, in the family collection since at least 1967. Listed in the collection inventory from 1967 (see scan in the photo gallery). 

Notes: The present HU is closely related to a very similar HU in the collection of the British Museum, London (Museum no. 1973,0726.26). Cf. Rawson, Chinese Bronzes: Art and Ritual, Glasgow 1987, no. 32. Compare also a smaller and slightly earlier HU ewer from the Western Zhou period with a dragon-shaped handle, which was unearthed at Feixian Bridge, Xinning in 1990. See: Willow Weilan Hai Chang, A Cradle of Chinese Civilization along the Yangzi River: Bronze Treasures From Hunan in ‘Antiques & Fine Art’, 2011, p. 271. 

HU
The vessel type HU was originally used as a wine container and appears in many variations and modifications. Examples with a squared section are usually referred to as FANGHU. The HU has usually a bulbous, vase-shaped lower part surmounted by a tapering neck. The vessel can be carried by the two ring handles on the sides, which sometimes have the shape of animals. The cover of the vase was also used as a vessel. Since the 5th century metal inlays decorating the exterior were particularly common.

AUCTIONATA AG, 10719 BERLIN. Sculptures et Bronze d'Asie provenant de la Collection D'une Noble Famille Europééenne, le 20 Juin 2015 à 18h00