China, 6^th-5^th century BC. Finely cast with a total of eleven (!) bands of decoration, including rope-twist encircling the foot and cover, interlocking kui dragons to the sides and cover, evenly spaced pendent leaves with taotie design below the ring handles, and checkered triangles and swirling designs below the finial with a central floral medallion. The deep rounded sides raised on a pedestal foot and flanked by two ring handles, the domed cover surmounted by a disk-form finial. The crisply cast decorations are additionally inlaid with a black pigment enhancing the contrast.

Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, casting flaws, small nicks, tiny losses, corrosion, minuscule dents, and light scratches. The bronze covered in a superb, naturally grown patina with vibrant malachite and azurite encrustations.

Weight: 1,471.1 g
Dimensions: Height 18.1 cm, Width 22.2 cm (across handles)

These food containers, called dou, are cleverly designed. When turned upside down, the lids serve a secondary function as dishes to serve the food contained within. The Dou first appeared at the end of the Shang dynasty and became part of the ritual set in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, used as a ritual vessel for offering grains.

Expert’s note: An ancient foundry site, established by the rulers of the Jin state in the early 6^th century BC, was discovered in the mid-20^th century in Shanxi province, with over 1200 pottery models and patterned molds for bronze casting excavated, providing greater understanding of the casting techniques and styles of the period. See for example the kui dragon designs, closely related to those found on the present lot, illustrated in Art of the Houma Foundry: Institute of Archaeology of Shanxi Province, Princeton, 1992, p. 211, no. 322 and p. 220, nos. 355 and 356.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bronze dou cast with similar bands of decoration, dated 6^th century BC, 22.2 cm long (across handles), illustrated by Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, 1995, p. 178, no. 24. Compare a pair of closely related bronze dou cast with similar bands of decoration, dated 5^th century BC, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 50.46.88.1a,b. Compare a related bronze dou excavated in 1988 at Jinsheng, Taiyuan, Shanxi, illustrated in Compendium of Chinese Bronze, Vol. 8, Eastern Zhou II, 1995, p. 37, pls. 40-41.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 16 September 2010, lot 881
Price: USD 104,500 or approx. EUR 137,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze ritual food vessel and cover, Dou, late Spring and Autumn Period, 6^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and manner of casting. Note the related size (20.3 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 September 2013, lot 1108
Price: USD 68,750 or approx. EUR 85,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze ritual food vessel and cover, Dou, late Spring and Autumn Period, 6^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form (albeit with a slightly different finial), bands of decoration, and manner of casting. Note the related size (21.5 cm).