Bronze Hu

Place of OriginChina

Date17th century

Dimensions11 1/2 × 9 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (29.2 × 24.1 × 24.1 cm)

MediumBronze

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick S. Ford, by exchange

Object number

2008.161

Not on View

Label TextBronzes of this type were made for the Literati class (the educated elite) during the Ming and early Qing Dynasties. The precise use of this form is not clear; however, it could well have been used in a scholar’s study to hold particularly large caligraphy brushes or even a bamboo ru-yi scepter (Buddhist talisman of good fortune). Even though this piece is marked with the seal of the Emperor Xuande (ruled 1426–1435), it was not made in the 15th century. Imperial commissioned bronzes from the Xuande reign of the early Ming Period were especially admired for their elegant shapes, sublime colors, delicate inlays, and perfect casting. For reasons not understood, virtually all such bronzes have disappeared, a situation so regretted by late Ming connoisseurs that they made copies of existing vessels in the 17th century.Published ReferencesKerr, Rose. Later Chinese Bronzes, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1990; Mowry, Robert. China's Renaissance in Bronze: The Robert H. Clague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900, The Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, 1993.