A rare silver-inlaid bronze 'champion' vase

Song/Ming Dynasty

Footnotes

宋/明 銅錯銀仿古夔龍紋雙聯英雄瓶

Provenance: Rolf, Lord Cunliffe (1899-1963), Honorary Keeper of the Far Eastern Collections at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Acquired from Theodore Culty by Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, 28 November 1960
Acquired from Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, 30 November 1960
The Cunliffe Collection, no.B11, and thence by descent

Exhibited, Published and Illustrated:
Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, Early Chinese Art, 27 September - 19 October 1973, no.21

來源： 劍橋菲茨威廉博物館東方藝術部名譽主任，Rolf Cunliffe勳爵 (1899-1963)
於1960年11月30日購自倫敦古董商Bluett & Sons Ltd.
Cunliffe收藏，藏品編號B11，並由後人保存迄今

展覽、出版及收錄：
1973年9月27至10月19日期間於倫敦古董商Bluett & Sons Ltd.「中國早期藝術(Early Chinese Art)」特展展出，展品編號21

Inspired by archaic bronze vessels produced during the Western Han period, this vase encapsulates a highly auspicious symbolism conveyed by the combination of eagle, ying and bear, xiong, which form the rebus for 'champion and hero'. The inlaid decoration, clearly derived from the archaic bronzes of the Warring States period, creates a demonstrable link to the revered Chinese past.

A related 'champion' vase, dated to the Song dynasty, is illustrated by P.Moss and G.Hawthorn, The Second Bronze Age. Later Chinese Metalwork, London, 1991, no.35. Another example, bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of the Salting Bequest, is illustrated by R.Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes London, 1990, no.57.

See also a related larger bronze 'champion' vase sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2014, lot 3328.