China, 202 BC to 220 AD. Each with a facetted pear-shaped body supported on a tall foot and rising to a gently waisted neck with everted rim surmounted by a faceted cover. Each vase is applied at the shoulders with two impressive taotie masks suspending loose rings. Exquisitely painted to each side of the body with two swirling designs in pale green and lavender, below pendent stiff leaves in red and white alternating with hooked designs in pale green at the neck, framed by horizontal bands, the covers similarly painted. (4)

Provenance: Collection of Joseph Rondina. Joseph Rondina (1927-2022) was born into a first-generation Florentine-American family in Auburn, upstate New York. Returning to the U.S. after being stationed in Berlin at the end of the Second World War, he studied at the Whitman School of Design before opening Joseph Rondina Antiques on Madison Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 1957. In the beginning, his interests focused primarily on European 18^th-century decorative arts and furniture, over time developing to include Chinese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Cambodian, Persian and Japanese art, bringing a more esoteric and exotic style to the market. His clientele included stars of the stage and screen, royalty, notables, dignitaries, and denizens of the social register from the United States and abroad.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Old repairs and minor touchups as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations. Wear, flaking, losses and fading to pigment, small nicks, minor chips, light scratches, encrustations. One of the four loose rings broken and restored.

Weight: 8,124 g and 8,352 g
Dimensions: Height 51.5 cm and 50.2 cm

Expert’s note: Expressive polychrome designs on ancient archaic wares from China, such as those on the present lot, are said to have inspired the Art Deco movement in Europe. A good example for this theory may be the advertising design work of noted architect Henry van der Welde (1863 Antwerp – 1957 Zurich).

Bronze and lacquer ritual Fanghu vessels were expensive commodities that only the privileged class could afford, but in the Han dynasty, ceramic funerary wares that simulated these luxurious objects became a more affordable means of outfitting one’s tomb, as a finished ceramic piece required far less fuel and specialized labor than its bronze or lacquer prototype. Fired at relatively low temperatures, earthenware vessels are not fully vitrified and are slightly porous, making them less than ideal as containers for daily use, but suitable as burial items. Only very few colored compounds can withstand kiln temperatures without alteration. In order to replicate the multiple bright colors and dynamic designs of painted lacquers, durable mineral pigments were applied to earthenware vessels after firing, hence the term ‘cold-painted.’

Literature comparison:
Compare a related painted pottery fanghu and cover, painted with taotie masks, 55.1 cm high, dated to the Western Han dynasty, in the Harvard Art Museums (acquired from J.J. Lally & Co.), object number 1990.85. Compare a related pair of painted pottery fanghu and covers, dated to the Western Han dynasty, in the Musée Cernuschi, Paris, object number MC 9915.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 March 2015, lot 782
Price: USD 21,250 or approx. EUR 25,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large painted grey pottery faceted pear-shaped jar and cover, Fanghu, China, Western Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related form and manner of painting. Note the size (56 cm).



漢代一對大型彩繪陶方壺
中國，公元前202 年至公元220年。壺口部與足底皆為方形，四角攢尖方蓋，壺身兩側各有一活環鋪耳。通體飾以黑、紅彩為主色調的圖案，頸繪蟬紋，腹部繪流雲紋，並以條帶紋相間。

來源：Joseph Rondina收藏。Joseph Rondina (1927-2022年)出生於紐約州北部奧本的第一代佛羅倫薩美國人家庭。 第二次世界大戰結束後駐紮在柏林，後回到美國。之後他在惠特曼設計學院學習，於 1957 年在曼哈頓上東區的麥迪遜大街開設了 Joseph Rondina 古董店。一開始，他的興趣主要集中在歐洲十八世紀的裝飾藝術和家具。隨著時間的推移，他開始收集印度、中國、韓國和日本的藝術。他的客戶包括來自美國和國外的銀幕明星、皇室成員、名人、政要和社會名流。
品相：品相良好，小修整，磨損、顏料褪色、小劃痕、小缺口、結殼。一個活環曾被修復過。

重量：分別爲8,124 克與8,352克
尺寸：高51.5 厘米 and 50.2 厘米

青銅方壺和漆器方壺是只有特權階級才能享用的昂貴器具。但在漢代，仿製這些奢華物品的陶瓷隨葬品成為一種更實惠的陪葬品，因為一件陶瓷成品需要的燃料少得多。在相對較低的溫度下燒製，陶器沒有完全玻璃化，略微多孔，因此不太適合作為日常使用的容器，但適合作為陪葬品。為了複製彩漆的多樣鮮豔色彩和紋飾設計，在燒製成品後，將耐熱的礦物顏料塗在陶器上，因此稱為“冷繪”。

文獻比較：
比較一件相近的西漢彩繪饕餮紋方蓋壺，高55.1 厘米，收藏於Harvard Art Museums (acquired from J.J. Lally & Co.)，館藏編號1990.85。比較一對相近西漢彩繪方蓋壺，收藏於巴黎Musée Cernuschi，館藏編號MC 9915。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2015年3月20日，lot 782
價格：USD 21,250（相當於今日EUR 25,500）
描述：西漢一對大型彩繪陶方壺
專家評論：比較相近的外形、繪畫風格。請注意尺寸 (56 厘米)。