A SUPERB BRONZE FIGURE OF A BULL, LATE WARRING STATES TO EARLY HAN DYNASTY China, probably Kingdom of Dian, 3rd-2nd century BC. Hollow cast, the stocky, muscular bull standing four square on distinct hoofs, its head held high, with rounded bulging eyes, flaring nostrils, closed mouth, the spoon-shaped ears flanking a broad bull neck, its tail curled, with a partially encrusted olive-grey patina and some malachite encrustation. Condition: Losses, fissures and naturally grown patina as visible on the images at www.zacke.at. One small and original piece is visibly reattached. No touch-ups or any kind of overpainting whatsoever. Overall good condition especially when considering the high age of this bronze. Provenance: The Reinhold Hofstätter collection, Vienna, and thence by decent. By repute acquired ca. 1960-1970. Weight: 494 g Dimensions: Length 18.5 cm Dian was an ancient kingdom situated in modern Yunnan, southwestern China. According to Han historian, Sima Qian, it was established in 279 BC when King Qingxiang of Chu sent a military force to the southwest. Zhuang Qiao, a general of Chu, reached the Dian Lake as part of the Chu military campaign. When the Chu homeland was invaded by the Qin, Zhuang Qiao decided to stay in Yunnan and adopt the native ways, establishing the Dian kingdom. The Qin dynasty was subsequently overthrown by the Han, and the commanderies of the new dynasty, Ba and Shu, bordered Dian. Literature comparison: For stylistic comparison, see a Warring States bronze horse in the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, from the Avery Brundage Collection, published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection, Berkeley, 1966, pl. XLVIII, no. C. See also a related Ordos bronze horse from the collection of Mrs. E. Bennett, exhibited in the Exhibition of Chinese Art, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 89, sold at Sotheby’s London, 24th May 1955, lot 26. Also compare with a Pair of Standing Bovines from the Western Han Dynasty, on loan from the Guangxi Institute of Cultural Properties Preservation and Archaeology, Excavated from Tomb no. 26 at Fengmenling, Hepu county, Guangxi, 2003, exhibited in New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.–A.D. 200), April 3, 2017–July 16, 2017. Auction result comparison: Compare with a bronze horse at Sotheby’s New York in Junkunc: Arts of Ancient China, 19 March 2019, lot 139, sold for USD $50,000. Also compare with a Western Han ox-form oil lamp at Christies New York in The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection, 16 September 2010, lot 892, sold for USD $25,000. 青銅牛，戰國晚期至漢代初 中國，可能爲滇國，公元前三至二世紀。空心，矮胖、肌肉發達的公牛四蹄著地，擡頭，眼睛圓鼓，鼻孔和嘴巴張開，兩側湯匙形的耳朵，尾巴彎曲，局部著橄欖灰色銅綠和一些孔雀石綠色結殼。 品相：裂縫、缺損和自然生長的包漿，細圖可見www.zacke.at。小修補明顯可見，無任何形式的黏貼和修飾。 總體而言，品相良好，尤其是考慮到青銅牛的年代。 來源：維也納Reinhold Hofstätter收藏，家族保存至今。據説大約購於1960-1970年。 重量：494 克 尺寸：長 18.5 厘米 拍賣結果比較：一件相近的青銅馬2019年3月19日于紐約蘇富比《中國古文物》拍號 139， 成交價USD $50.000。另外一件西漢牛形油燈于紐約佳士得《The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection》拍號892，成交價USD $25.000。
