A VERY RARE ARCHAIC BRONZE COPPER-INLAID WINE VESSEL, BIANHUWarring States PeriodThe vessel with flattened oval sides raised on a spreading rectangular pedestal foot, the main faces cast in relief with panels of tight abstract curling patterns arranged in five horizontal bands within copper-inlaid borders, the sides similarly decorated and applied with two taotie masks suspending a ring handle, all below a narrow band on the waisted neck and a copper band on the flared mouth, the body covered with light-green encrustation. 33cm (13in) high.Footnotes:戰國 青銅羽翅紋扁壺Provenance: J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art, New YorkAn important European private collectionPublished, Illustrated and Exhibited: J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art, Archaic Chinese Bronzes, Jades and Works of Art, New York, June 1994, no.56來源：紐約古董商J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art歐洲重要私人收藏展覽著錄：J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art，《Archaic Chinese Bronzes, Jades and Works of Art》，紐約，1994年六月，編號56Bianhu vessels first appeared as in the Warring States period (457-221 BC), when they formed an important part of religious and cultural rituals aimed at presenting food and drink offerings to the ancestors of powerful families. At the time, various social and political changes were bringing old rituals to an end. One such change was the increasing presence in China of nomadic peoples, and it is likely that the bianhu was inspired by practical vessels used for carrying water on horseback; see J.Rawson, 'Ordering the Exotic: Ritual Practices in the Late Western and Early Eastern Zhou', in Artibus Asiae, vol.73, no.1, 2013, pp.5-76.The intricate interlacing designs noted on the present vessel testify to a highly-developed method of mechanical production that appears to have become the norm during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. At this time, elaborate designs were produced using 'pattern blocks' made of clay, which were carved as the masters from which to impress strips of negative design to fill out the moulds. This method enabled the production of a large number of similarly-decorated vessels, probably intended to impress a socially-prominent audience. In a world of competing courts, conspicuous displays of every kind was the order of the day. For example, the lavish content of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, the ruler of a small state on the borders of the Chu kingdom, yielded spectacular wine hu containers, in addition to a magnificent set of sixty-five bronze bells; see Hubei Sheng Bowuguan, Zeng Hou Yi Mu, Beijing, 1989.A bronze bianhu, Warring States period, unearthed in 1977 from the tomb of King Cuo of the Zhongshan state, contained an alcoholic drink, further proving the function of this type of vessel at that time; see Liu Jiansheng, Warring States Treasures- Cultural Relics from the State of Zhongshan, Hebei Province, Hong Kong, 1999, p.44, no.7.The lack of a lid on the present example may be explained because many of these covers were originally made from perishable or fragile materials, such as wood or pottery. See a bianhu and cover, Warring States period, excavated in 1975 at Sanmenxia Shangcunling, Henan Province, now in the Henan Provincial Museum, Zhengzhou, illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Dacidian, Qingtong juan, Shanghai, 1995, p.241, no.864. Compare with two very similar bronze bianhu vessels, Warring States period, late 4th-early 3rd century BC, in the Compton Verney collection, Warwickshire, acc.no.CVCSC 0218.1-2.A, and the example in Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, illustrated in Asiatic Art in the Rijskmuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1985, p.38, no.10.A very similar copper-inlaid bronze ritual wine vessel, bianhu, Warring States period, was sold at Christie's New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1257.壺呈扁圓形，侈口，短頸，溜肩，長方形圈足。肩飾一對鋪首銜環耳。腹部以赤銅作五層長方形格欄，兩側六層，格內飾細密繁縟羽翅紋，紋飾層疊，繁而不亂。扁壺為酒器，約始見於戰國。一說其形制源於北方游牧民族盛水的皮囊，東周時期隨各民族文化交流而傳入中原。參見J.Rawson著，〈Ordering the Exotic: Ritual Practices in the Late Western and Early Eastern Zhou〉，收錄於《Artibus Asiae》，卷73，第一刊，2013年，頁5-76。中國北方少數民族白狄族鮮虞部在今河北省境內建立古中山國，其戰國時期王陵中曾見一件扁壺，出土時仍有半壺酒液，進一步佐證了此類扁壺的用途。見《戰國雄風——河北省中山國王墓文物展》，香港，1999年，頁44，編號7。部分扁壺最初使用時或配以木製或陶製壺蓋，這些材料易腐易碎，無法經歷漫長歲月而保存。如現藏於河南博物館、1975年於河南三門峽上村嶺出土一件青銅羽紋扁壺，形制紋飾皆似本例，且出土時同樣無蓋。見《中國文物精華大辭典·青銅卷》，上海，1995年，頁241，編號864。主體密集往復的浮雕裝飾，應使用模印法，即以印模在尚未全乾的陶胎上連續印製鑄成，是戰國時期青銅紋飾的典型例證。參考兩件極似本例的戰國時期青銅扁壺，分別藏於英國Compton Verney莊園博物館，館藏編號CVCSC 0218.1-2.A；及阿姆斯特丹荷蘭國立博物館A... For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
