Two rare bronze handled vases, Yuan dynasty or later

Taller: Phillips London, circa 1985.

Shorter: Phillips London, acquired in the late 1980s.

Shorter: Ulrich Hausmann, ‘The “Divine Curve”: The Super Ellipse in Chinese Art’, Arts of Asia, March-April 2016, p. 162, fig. 11.

The rare forms of the present vases present a challenge in their dating. In his notesm Hausmann attributes the smaller vase to the Yuan period, 14th century and states he has not seen a similar one in 50 years of collecting. He refers to its “elegant form using archaistic elements subtly to hint at the archaic past. The fine handles suggesting bells. [The] Broad foot rim with crisscross base, also a subtle reference to the ancient past.” In regard to the taller piece, Hausmann explores in his notes the possibility that this could be an extremely rare Song or Yuan dynasty vase, serving as a Chinese prototype for an entire group of Japanese hanging vases.