A BRONZE SQUARE VASE, FANGHU
China, Western Han dynasty

Square section vase with the body walls rounded in a curve that reaches maximum amplitude towards the middle part and then taper up to the mouth, on two sides a stylized animal mask with a ring between the jaws (pushou).

26 cm high

Provenance : Fabrizio Savi collection, acquired from Galerie Moderne, Bruxelles, between 1995 and 2000.
Used to contain cereal wine or food, these vases were already produced towards the end of the Zhou dynasty. This form - also used for similar ceramic and lacquer containers - fell into disuse in the first century AD. As in the similar examples in the MAO of Turin (L'arte per la vita nell'Aldilà. Capolavori di arte antica cinese dalla collezione Meidaozhai (3 voll.). Volume secondo. La dinastia Han, by M. Pirazzoli-t 'Serstevens, Turin 2002, pp. 40-41, nn. 157-158), vases of this kind were usually equipped with a lid with small handles shaped as stylized animals.