A CHINESE BRONZE FANGHU.Song to Yuan Dynasty.Of rectangular form, the pear-shaped body rising from a splayed foot to a waisted neck and slightly flared mouth, the four sides separated by vertical ridges and divided into quadrants by horizontal ridges each enclosing tightly patterned motifs including upright cicada leaves, wan and linked-coins, the neck flanked by a pair of cloud swirl handles, the foot bordered by frothing waves.19cm H.518g.宋至元 銅開光錦紋如意雲耳方壺 This vase is widely considered to be of a quintessential Song/Yuan bronze type. Patterns on this group of vases vary greatly, however, the present piece remarkably is identical in decoration, form and size to the piece excavated in Siziwang Banner, Wulanchabu, Inner Mongolia, 1956, and illustrated in James C.Y. Watt, The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty, p 290, figure 337, although of far superior condition.