J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York

14.
A GILDED AND SILVERED BRONZE COVERED VESSEL (HU)

Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 8)

the well proportioned pear-shaped vessel raised on a high foot with slight splayed sides decorated with a wide border of gilding, the mouth rim also slightly flared and decorated to match with a wide band of gilding both inside and out, the dark bronze body of the vessel embellished with a silver-plated concave band at the base of the neck and a gilded concave band around the waist below brightly gilded twin taotie mask handles cast in relief and suspending loose rings, the domed cover with three flattened scroll-form gilded finials and decorated with alternating silvered and gilded bands enclosing the central gilded medallion, the edge of the cover angled in to fit precisely on a continuous plane with the wide edge of the mouth of the vessel and held in place by a deep flange on the underside, with attractive bright malachite green encrustation widely scattered on the exposed bronze areas.

Height 8 ¹⁄₈ inches (20.6 cm)

西漢  鎏金銀銅蓋壺  高 20.6 厘米