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AN ARCHAIC BRONZE STORAGE VESSEL, FANGHU, HAN DYNASTY

Description

AN ARCHAIC BRONZE STORAGE VESSEL, FANGHU, HAN DYNASTY

China, 206 BC-220 AD. The tall, square vessel raised on a spreading foot, with plain curved sides narrowing to the neck set off by a lozenge-shaped mouth, a distinct characteristic of vessels from the Han dynasty. Two alternate sides crisply cast with 'taotie' mask handles suspending thick rings.

Provenance: Collection of Solomon Adler, gifted to his brother in the early 1960s, and thence by direct descent. Solomon Adler (1909-1994) worked as a United States Treasury representative in China from 1941 to 1948, a period during which he assembled a fine collection of Chinese furniture and works of art. during World War II. In 1949, he was identified as a Soviet spy and became the subject of an investigation, but resigned from the Treasury Department before the case was resolved. He returned to Britain, where he taught for several years at Cambridge University. In the early 1960s, he moved to China and passed his entire collection on to his brother.
Condition: Very good condition with expected wear and casting irregularities, signs of prolonged burial, encrustations, areas of corrosion, small nicks, light scratches, few minor dents. The bronze with a fine, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustation particularly to the interior and underside.

Weight: 3,362 g
Dimensions: Height 32.2 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze storage vessel, fanghu, Han dynasty, 202 BC-9 AD, excavated at Shuihudi, Yunmeng, Hubei province, held now by the Yunmeng County Museum, and illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese archaic bronzes], vol. 12, 1998, pl. 9. Compare a related bronze storage vessel, fanghu, Han dynasty, 202 BC-9 AD, in the collection of the Fujii Yurinkan, Kyoto, and illustrated in Sueji Umehara, Nihon shucho Shina kodo seikwa [Select Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Japan], vol. 6, 1964, pl. 471.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 16 December 2014, lot 8008
Price: USD 8,750 or approx. EUR 10,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic bronze vessel, fanghu, Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of casting, and decoration with 'taotie' mask handles. Note the similar size (35.5 cm).

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AN ARCHAIC BRONZE STORAGE VESSEL, FANGHU, HAN DYNASTY

Lot 0368

Estimate €700-€1,500Apr 17, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

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