398.
A GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID TRIPOD VESSEL AND COVER, DUI
Song/ Yuan dynasty, 12th-14th century
… cm high
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. …
This vessel has a shape clearly inspired by dui ritual vessels used during the Zhou dynasty, characterized by a half ovoid body supported by three cabriole legs and surmounted by a cover of similar shape with three further similar protuberances, the upper section of the lower body with two.
An archai dui of this shape, also with the same kind of legs, is in the British Museum, London (inv. 1991,0731.1).
The same museum has also another dui dated to the 4th century BC with the exterior decorated with silver inlay (J. Rawson (edited by), The British Museum book of Chinese Art, London 1992, p. 72, fig. 45), a technique which is also used on the piece in Naples to create parallel bands of archaic motifs.
A very similar vessel, with a more spherical body, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 31.49.4a, b); see also the comparable dui in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, dated to the Song dynasty (inv. B60B11+).
