A BRONZE RITUAL WATER VESSEL, KUNDIKA, GORYEO DYNASTYKorea, 12th-13th century. Finely cast, the ovoid body set on the shoulder with a lobed spout and a cupped opening, surmounted by a tall cylindrical neck with flaring rim.Provenance: Canadian trade.Condition: Good condition,mensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, some losses, small nicks and cracks, all as expected from ancient bronzes. Superb, naturally grown patina with fine malachite encrustation.Weight: 556.3 gDimensions: Height 18.3 cmThe long, slender neck and small spout on the broad shoulder are typical characteristics of Goryeo kundika. This type was popular during the Tang dynasty and continued to be used in the northern regions of China during the Northern Song and Liao dynasties. In Goryeo, bronze kundika were especially popular. The particularly thin and elongated profile of the kundika suggests a date of the 12th or 13th century.Kundika is a Sanskrit term for a long-necked water-pouring vessel. Throughout Asia, these vessels were associated with wandering ascetics, who carried them like canteens. In ancient India, pouring water into the hands of another person was a way to express ‘your wish is granted’. Because of water’s association with wishes, purification, and nurturing, kundika often appear among the attributes of Buddhist deities such as the future Buddha Maitreya and the Bodhisattva Guanyin. In ritual, they are used to evoke those deities and to pour water for cleansing purposes.Literatureparison:Compare a related bronze kundika, 37.2 cm, Korea, 12th-13th century, in the Brooklyn Museum, accession number 74.27.pare a related bronze kundika, 34.2 cm, Korea, Goryeo dynasty, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 23.115.pare a related bronze kundika, 37.6 cm, Korea, Goryeo dynasty, in the Art Institute Chicago, reference number 1969.702.pare a related bronze kundika, 38.1 cm, Korea, 13th-14th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), accession number .高麗王朝銅質淨瓶韓國，十二至十三世紀。本件圓形侈口帶唇稜，口部向下收斂，直長頸，肩上有一短流，圓口，圓肩，碩腹深長向下漸收斂。