Lot 221

Chinese & Roman Bronze Ritual Vessel Pair

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Lot 221
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Chinese & Roman Bronze Ritual Vessel Pair
Chinese & Roman Bronze Ritual Vessel Pair
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Chinese & Roman Bronze Ritual Vessel Pair

Estimate: $400 - $600

Starting Bid: $175

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

East Asia, China, Spring and Autumn period, ca. 771 to 476 BCE; Mediterranean, Rome, Imperial period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A rare pairing of two ancient worlds, brought together by a shared devotion to the rite of pouring. The larger vessel, a Chinese he of the Spring and Autumn period, presents the characteristic globular body and twin loop handles of that form, cast in leaded bronze and now wrapped in the deep, variegated patina that centuries of earth confer. The he served the ceremonial and convivial world of early China in equal measure, its generous belly suited to warming and dispensing wine at the ritual feasts that bound aristocratic society together. Here, the corroded surface reads less as deterioration than as geological record, a stratigraphy of azure, verdigris, and ochre accumulated across nearly three millennia. Size of larger: 6.6" W x 3.4" H x 5.5" D (16.8 cm W x 8.6 cm H x 14.0 cm D)

The smaller vessel is a Roman copper-alloy patera, the ubiquitous instrument of ancient libation. Its shallow, hemispherical bowl rises to a slender, tapering handle, and the interior floor bears a low-relief rosette medallion, a detail that situates this piece squarely within the decorative conventions of Roman ritual metalwork. The patera was the workhorse of Roman religious life: poured over altars, into fires, onto the ground in propitiation of gods from the Capitoline to the frontier camps of the legions. That the base of the bowl carries its own small spout further refines its pouring function. Together, these two objects frame an unexpectedly elegant argument: that the impulse to pour in reverence, whether at a Zhou banquet or a Roman templum, is among the most persistent gestures in human civilization.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection

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Item # 202442

  • Condition: Excellent. Heavy weathering throughout, commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent with rich patinas throughout.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000