A large archaistic bronze incense burner, fu18th centuryCast after the archaic form with four splayed corner feet and mythical beast loop handles, the rectangular body with shallow-relief taotie masks set on an incised leiwen ground and punctuated by projecting flanges at the centre of the bands and at the corner edges of the vessel, all below an incised key-fret pattern beneath the rim, the underside with a four-character seal script mark translating as 'made by Cao Youlang'. 56cm (22in) wide注脚The shape of the present vessel is inspired by an archaic bronze ritual grain container generally known as fu. This form, which may have been an evolution or even replacement of an earlier ritual vessel known as xu, first appeared in the Late Western Zhou period, but was most widespread in the subsequent Eastern Zhou period. Examples of Eastern Zhou fu ritual vessels are illustrated by J.So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. III, New York, 1995, pp.170-173.