HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 220)

In form, this figure of an ox appears related to bronzes manufactured in the Yunnan kingdom of Dian, a culture which created a sophisticated bronze casting tradition indepedent from Chinese foundries. Largely known through the bronzes excavated from the royal necropolis at Shizhaishan near Kunming, Dian bronze artisans used the cire-perdue (lost-wax) method of casting, a technique known in China by the Early Warring States (475-221 BC) period, and yet not utilized until much later times. Cire-perdue casting allowed Dian artisans to lend an extraordinary realism and naturalism to their depiction of human and animal figures. Figures of bulls were a common motif in Dian art, suggesting possible influences from mainland Southeast Asian cultures, perhaps even India. The bull motif was adopted by Han artisans, as can be seen, for instance, on pottery wellheads of the period. For examples, see Y. Mino and J. Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1983, p. 169; and Y. Sugimura, Chinese Sculpture, Bronzes, and Jades in Japanese Collections, Honolulu, 1966, pl. 12.

For examples of oxen from the Dian culture, but mounted on bronze containers, see J. Rawson, et al., The Chinese Bronzes of Yunnan, London, 1983, pls. 79-87. Similarly, see Zhang Tunsheng (ed.), Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, 14, Dian Kunming, Beijing, 1993, pls. 34-9, and the cowrie-container in the Shanghai Museum excavated from Shizhaishan in 1956, illustrated in Shanghai Museum Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery, Shanghai, p. 44. Compare, also, the bull-form basin holder illustrated in Treasures from the Bronze Age of China: An Exhibition from the People's Republic of China, New York, 1980, no. 97.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C101k71 is consistent with the dating of this lot.