CHINESE ARCHIAC BRONZE TRIPOD KETTLE (HE) - XRF TESTED
Eastern Zhou Dynasty/Warring States Period, Ca. 475-221 BC.
The heavily-cast vessel, with a spherical body, supported on three feet (which resemble bird-shaped feet) decorated by taotie masks. The spout in the form of a zoomorphic animal, possibly a dragon with pronounced eyes, appears to pass through the shoulder of the kettle after emerging from the mouth of a similar dragon, which forms the arched handle decorated with leiwen pattern. The flat-topped circular cover is set with a loop finial, and the smooth polished surfaces with malachite and ferrous encrustation. Some restoration. For another example of a Tripod kettle see: Arthur M. Sackler Collections, is illustrated by Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes, vol. III, 1995, pp. 406-7, no. 84. Richard A. Pegg and Zhang Lidong, The MacLean Collection: Chinese Ritual Bronzes, Chicago, 2010, pl. 48.The item has undergone X-ray fluorescence analysis to confirm the metallurgical content suggesting its ancient origin and lack of modern trace elements.
Size: L:185mm / W:210mm; 1.3kg
Provenance: East Anglian private collection; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong. Exhibited: Olympia Art & Antiques fair, London June 2022.
Estimate: GBP 4500 - 9000