This rare vase of hexagonal baluster form is decorated with waves and various diapers each set within its own panel separated by plain bands. The tubular handles on the neck derive from the distinctive vases used for the arrow game; here they are adapted by including bronze flowers within the design. The separated panels are typical of vases from the Jin ~ early Yuan dynasty as is the boxed form of the top rim and the exaggerated mouth and base. The unusual wave design with its heavily accented diagonal crests features also on a Yuan vase illustrated in Rose Kerr’s article ‘The Evolution of Bronze Style in the Jin, Yuan and Early Ming Dynasties’ Oriental Art 1982. For a similar baluster vase dated as Song ~ Yuan see ‘China’s Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert Clague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes, 1100 ~ 1900’ Phoenix Art Museum, 1994. Bronze vases from this period are rare.

9.1/8 inches ( 23.2 cm ) high. The vase has a fine, dark colour and an entirely genuine patina. It is undamaged though it has lost the base insert ( these early vases always have a base made from a separate piece of sheet bronze probably soldered in place ).