A bronze arrow-vase, Yuan dynasty

Berlin Private Collection.

Acquired in Berlin, circa 1995.

Compare a vase of related more elongated form, similarly embracing negative space with a leiwen design spilling onto tube handles, attributed to the Southern Song or Yuan dynasty in Recasting the Past, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2025, cat. no. 54. Hausmann writes in his notes: “This vase with arrow-vase type tubes on the side is a fine example of a vase which could be regarded as the most important type for ceremonial use. When the extreme shortage of copper got worse the imperial edict (......) allowed the production of ceramics with a similar shape”. He attributes this vase to the Song or Yuan period and states it is probably Song.