Lot 124. A gilt-bronze tripod vessel (hu) and cover with a basin, Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). Height 5 5/8  in., 14.2 cm. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the hu with a globular body supported on three short legs and rising to a tall sloping neck, the arched handle terminating in a dragon head at each end and attached by an openwork chain to the pair of loops at the shoulder of the vessel, the bell-shaped cover covering the neck of the vase and aligning flush with the shoulder, the top of the cover slightly domed and set with three hooked loops, the basin with deep rounded sides and a short everted rim, the exterior cast with four raised fillets encircling the widest point and a pair of low-relief beast-masks each with a small loop (3).