Description
Openwork and sculptural designs elaborately transform the silhouette of this gui, a ritual food vessel with a square pedestal. The design exudes motion, exuberance, and baroque characters to a stately vessel form. Lotus-petal openwork encircles the cover, reinforcing the linear rhythms of the undulating wave patterns on the body. Two lively dragons, with eyes and mouth wide open and tongue straight out, are accompanied by two felines to form the arched handles.
Provenance
Hans Jüergen von Lochow [1902–1989]; Frederick M. Mayer [1899–1974], New York, NY (?–1974); (Christie, Manson & Woods, London, England, June 25, 1974 sale, lot 219, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (June 25, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1974–)
Accession Number
1974.73
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
Overall: 34.3 x 44.5 cm (13 1/2 x 17 1/2 in.)
Classification
Metalwork
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund