OBJECT OF THE MONTH - MAY 2025
0125-01
An archaistic copper alloy vase, fangzun. Cast in a square section with prominent flanges to each of the corners, the flared neck is cast with a single stiff leaf lappet above a horizontal band of mythical beasts amongst tumultuous waves, a design repeated in a broader band on the high foot. The central section, slightly proud of the upper and lower sections, is cast in relief with a taotie mask with typical facial details.
Yuan dynasty, 14th century.
height 21.6 cm / 8 1/2 in
Wood stand and Japanese fitted box with an inscription, 漢 銅 四方 花入 紫旦（紫檀）䑓 付 Chinese copper quadrilateral flower vase accompanied by a rosewood stand.
Provenance:
Japanese private collection.
An almost identical fangzun, the foot on this cast is slightly less high, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019.267a,b) was shown in the exhibition Recasting the Past, The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100 – 1900, February 29 – September 28, 2025, but is not illustrated in the catalogue although it is on their website, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/827419.
Displayed in the exhibition in Gallery 211, this bronze has been later fitted in Japan for the display of flowers.
An archaistic copper alloy vase, fangzun. Cast in a square section with prominent flanges to each of the corners, the flared neck is cast with a single stiff leaf lappet above a horizontal band of mythical beasts amongst tumultuous waves, a design repeated in a broader band on the high foot. The central section, slightly proud of the upper and lower sections, is cast in relief with a taotie mask with typical facial details.
Yuan dynasty, 14th century.
height 21.6 cm / 8 1/2 in
Wood stand and Japanese fitted box with an inscription, 漢 銅 四方 花入 紫旦（紫檀）䑓 付 Chinese copper quadrilateral flower vase accompanied by a rosewood stand.
Provenance:
Japanese private collection.
An almost identical fangzun, the foot on this cast is slightly less high, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019.267a,b) was shown in the exhibition Recasting the Past, The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100 – 1900, February 29 – September 28, 2025, but is not illustrated in the catalogue although it is on their website, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/827419.
Displayed in the exhibition in Gallery 211, this bronze has been later fitted in Japan for the display of flowers.
Detail
Japanese box and blackwood stand