Lot 1247. A bronze ritual tripod wine vessel and cover, tilianhu, Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220); 8½ in. (21.5 cm.) high with handle. Estimate 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 21,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The broad pear-shaped body is raised on three cabriole legs and has a pair of loop handles on the shoulder which suspend loose rings that are attached to links suspended from the dragon-head terminals of the yoke handle. The slightly domed cover has a flat, pierced finial. There is extensive milky blue-green encrustation allover, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Kinpei Takeuchi (1873-1960).
Ryuichi Sano (1889-1977), acquired in Tokyo, 1950s.
Sano Art Museum, Mishima, Japan.

Literature: Sano Bijutsukan zohinsho, Sano Art Museum, 1986, p. 77, no. 103.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Furniture, Archaic Bronzes and Works of Art, New York, 21 - 22 March 2013