A RARE ‘DRAGON’S HEAD’ BRONZE LADLE, DOU, HAN DYNASTYPublished & Exhibited: Bernhard Karlgren & Jan Wirgin, Chinese Bronzes. The Natanael Wessén Collection, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden, 1969, no. 38, pl. 51, p. 134.China, 202 BC to 220 AD. The shaft elegantly cast in a curve and terminating with a dragon head, the plain deep oval bowl with an everted rim. The ladle covered in a superb, naturally grown patina with extensive malachite-green encrustation.Provenance: Collection of Natanael Wessén. Exhibited at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1969. Bukowski-Auktioner, Stockholm, 21 April 1972, lot 957. Collection of Sören Ström, acquired from the above. A copy of the signed invoice from Bukowski-Auctioner, Stockholm, dated 24 April 1972 and addressed to Sören Ström, apanies this lot. Natanael Wessén was a Swedish surgeon and an important collector of ancient Chinese bronzes. His first wife was the Swedish opera singer Ruth Berglund (1897-1984). Sören Ström (1934-2021) was a notable Swedish art publisher and editor who collected Chinese art during the second half of the 20th century.Condition: Presenting remarkably well. As expected with old wear, extensive encrustation and corrosion overall, some dents, minor losses and associated old fills.Weight: 840.5 gDimensions: Length 34.8 cmBronze ladles were used to bail wine from vessels during ritual ceremonies. Two forms of bronze ladle are known, dou and shao, which are distinguished by the shape of their handle: dou has a curved handle, and shao has a straight handle. Dou as a drinking utensil was recorded in early Chinese literature, such as the Shijing (Classic of Poetry), apilation of ancient poems dating from the early Western Zhou dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn period. In the Shijing, the poem 'Reed by the Road' contains a verse which can be translated to 'the tasty wine shall be bailed with a large dou'.Literatureparison:Compare a related bronze ladle with a gold-inlaid inscription, dated to the Western Han dynasty, in the collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, accession number .Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: London, 7 June 2021, lot 454Price: GBP 5,100 or approx.EUR 6,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A rare archaic bronze dragon-headed ladle, Han dynastyExpert remark:pare the closely related dragon head terminal. Note the smaller size (21 cm).漢代罕見龍頭青銅斗中國，公元前202至公元 220年。杓柄線條優雅，末端為龍頭，另一端為橢圓形碗，邊緣外翻。表面包漿極好，大面積孔雀石綠色銹殼。出版 & 展覽: Bernhard Karlgren & Jan Wirgin，《Chinese Bronzes：The Natanael Wessén Collection》，瑞典斯特哥爾摩東亞博物館，1969年，編號38，圖 51，頁134。