Beschreibung:

AN UNUSUAL PARCEL-GILT CAST-BRONZE 'SHOU' JAR LATE MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY of archaic pou form, the rounded sides supported on a low splayed foot rising to a short neck with squared everted rim, decorated in relief and gilt with one hundred and twenty-eight different shou characters, all against a finely punched ground, the shoulders set with a pair of ring handles supporting taotie masks, below a wave band around the neck and a wan-fret band at the rim, the zitan wood domed cover pierced and carved with a pair of bats and two shou characters against a ground of cloud scrolls, rising to a carved carnelian agate lingzhi knop, the zitan wood stand with five cabriole feet (3) Height of jar 7 in., 17.8 cm