A LARGE ARCHAISTIC GOLD AND SILVERINLAID BRONZE VASE

QING DYNASTY, 17TH TO 18TH CENTURY

HEIGHT: 57.5CM

The pear-shaped body is exuberantly inlaid in gold and silver with horizontal friezes of stylised taotie masks divided by bands of cicada lappets, between a classic scroll around the rim and a ruyi band at the foot. The base is set with a plate engraved with an apocryphal inscription reading Da Ming Xuande wunian zhongchun Gongbu guanchen Wu Baozuo zao 大明宣德五年仲春工部官臣吳 邦佐造 (“Made by the Minister of the Ministry of Works Wu Bangzuo during the second month of the fifth year of Xuande in the Ming dynasty”)

This impressive vase represents a masterful reinvention of archaism adapted in a new canon of taste by juxtaposing nearly all designs classic to the decorative repertoire of archaic bronzes with contemporary motifs. The intricacy and extravagance of the inlays bear testimony to the remarkable innovation in metalwork technology and design in the Qing period. Compare a vase from the collection of Robert E. Kresko, illustrated in Philip K. Hu, Later Chinese Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E. Kresko Collection , St. Louis, 2008, cat. no. 31.

PROVENANCE
A European Private Collection