A VERY RARE ARCHAISTIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, HU

Ming/Qing Dynasty

Footnotes

明/清 蟠螭紋鋪首耳銅壺
銘文「公作寶尊彝」

Provenance: Dr Emil Hultmark (1872-1943), Stockholm, acquired prior to 1935, and thence by descent

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Royal Academy of Arts, International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-1936, no.140 (dated as Warring States period)
S.M. Björkman, Svenska Hem, I Ord Och Bilder, 'Fil. dr. och Fru Emil Hultmarks hem: Birger Jarlsgatan 32, Stockholm', no.8, 1936, illustrating the home of Dr and Mrs Hultmark in 1936, with the present lot illustrated in-situ
Emil Hultmarks Samling, Stockholm, 1942, p.66, pl.33, no.537

來源： Emil Hultmark博士(1872-1943)，斯德哥爾摩，獲得於1935年前，並由後人保存迄今

展覽著錄： 皇家藝術學院，《International Exhibition of Chinese Art》，倫敦，1935-1936年，編號140（斷代為戰國）
S.M. Björkman，《Svenska Hem, I Ord Och Bilder》，"Fil. dr. och Fru Emil Hultmarks hem: Birger Jarlsgatan 32, Stockholm"，編號8，1936年，插圖有 1936 年 Hultmark 博士和夫人的家，並有本拍品在現場展示
《Emil Hultmarks Samling》，斯德哥爾摩，1942年，第66頁，插圖33，編號537

Emil Hultmark was an art historian, collector, donor and patron of the arts. He combined important work as an art historian not only with the creation of one of the largest and most remarkable private art collections in Sweden, but also with the construction of an archive of Swedish artists and art craftsmen unparalleled in its extent, together with a library containing almost all that has been written about Swedish art. He loaned to the seminal International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy, London, 1935-1936, no less than five objects, Catalogue nos.140 (the present lot), 1872, 1949, 2983 and 2985.

The present bronze vase was included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, London, in 1935-1936. This seminal exhibition had the patronage of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary, and the President of the Chinese Republic. It included over 3,000 objects. These were variously loaned by the Chinese Government, including pieces shown for the first time outside China, objects from the collection of Sir Percival David, which were exhibited for the first time in public, pieces from the British Royal Collection, and from many important museums including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Louvre, the Musée Guimet, the Musée Cernuschi, Topkapi Saray, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cleveland, Kansas City, Cologne, Dresden, and loaned by notable private collectors including HRH Crown Prince of Sweden, Alan Barlow, R.C. Bruce, Buchanan-Jardine, Mr & Mrs Alfred Clark, Dr Leonard Gow, C.T. Loo, Carl Kempe, H.J. Oppenheim, Oscar Raphael, F. Schiller, Mr & Mrs Walter Sedgwick, A. Stoclet , S.D. Winkworth and Prof. W. Perceval Yetts - a roll call of the greatest collectors of Chinese art in the West in the 20th century. While the vase's archaistic nature is evident to us today, it is noteworthy that when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts' Chinese art exhibition in 1936, it was attributed to the Warring States period.

The present vessel closely resembles Warring States prototypes; see for example, a related bronze hu vase but with cover and handle, late 6th century BC, illustrated by J.So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M.Sackler Collections, vol.III, New York, 1995, fig.42.2; as well as another bronze hu vase with cover, Eastern Zhou dynasty, illustrated by W.Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, pp.96-97. Such vessels, prominent during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC), were used for storing and serving wine in ceremonial contexts, especially during religious rituals and ancestor worship. Furthermore, ownership and use of such vessels were closely tied to social status and political authority, reflecting the hierarchical structure of Zhou dynasty society.

However, the present lot's casting technique and design reveal that it is an exceptional vase produced during the Ming or Qing dynasty, reflecting the archaic revival movement that gained prominence from the late Northern Song through to the Southern Song dynasties. This movement was heavily influenced by the Bogutu or Xuanhe Bogutu, an illustrated catalogue of archaic bronzes collected by the Northern Song Court, first published in the fifth year of the Yuanhe reign (1123 AD), with various editions reissued during the Southern Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

During the Qing dynasty, the archaistic movement gained renewed vigour, driven in large part by the rise of philological study and antiquarianism. Scholars of the time, particularly during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, took a keen interest in the rigorous study of ancient texts, inscriptions, and objects, seeking to recover and authenticate China's early cultural heritage. This academic focus was intertwined with a broader cultural and political effort to connect the Qing state with the prestigious antiquity of earlier dynasties, particularly the Zhou and Han periods. Imperial commissions for bronzes that imitated or were inspired by ancient designs became popular, reflecting a fascination with the craftsmanship, symbolism, and authority embedded in these ancient forms. As a result, artisans produced sophisticated bronzes that deliberately invoked the aesthetic and symbolism of China's distant past.