Lot 466. An archaic bronze ‘duck’ beaker, jia, Eastern Zhou dynasty; 15cm high. Estimate HK$60,000 - 80,000. Sold for HK$ 587,500 (€ 70,029). Courtesy Bonhams

Cast in the form of an duck, the bird standing on two webbed feet and a cylindrical stand, the elongated neck curving upwards with a prominent beak, all ending in a fan-shaped tail.

Note: See an almost identical excavated example dating to the Spring and Autumn period, unearthed in Jiangsu province in 1982, in the Zheiang Museum, Jiangsu province, illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji 11. Eastern Zhou 5, Beijing, 1997, p.22, no.22.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 24 November 2013