Lot 39. A rare bronze cylindrical box and cover, Warring States period (475-221 BC). Height 3⅞ in., 9.9 cm. Lot sold: 16,380 USD (Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 USD). © Sothebys.

the interior cast with a sixteen-character inscription reading bo X X zuo X qi wannian zizi sunsun yongbaoyongxiang.

Literature: Rose Kerr et al., Chinese Antiquities from the Wou Kiuan Collection. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, Hong Kong , 2011, pl. 25.

Note: Compare a similar example formerly in the collection of Dr Franco Vannotti, included in Mostra d'Arte Cinese / Exhibition of Chinese Art, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 74 and the exhibition The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, cat. no. 45, where the catalogue authors note that cylindrical boxes of this type would have been used to hold needles and thread, as suggested by an excavated example found still containing iron needles discovered in 1982 in Hejingshan, Guangzhou, illustrated in Kuang Shunuan et al., 'A Han Dynasty Needle and Thread Container Decorated with Dragon and Phoenix Patterns', Wenwu, 1991. Another example, cast in relief with animals in combat is illustrated in Bernhard Kalgren and Jan Wirgin, Chinese Bronzes. The Natanael Wessén Collection, Stockholm, 1969, pl. 34.

Sotheby's. A Journey Through China's History. The Dr Wou Kiuan Collection Part 1, New York, 22 March 2022