BRONZE KUNDIKA, CHONGBYONG
GORYEO DYNASTY OR LATER
£693
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 3 November 2023 from 09:00 GMT
Description
高麗王朝或以後 銅淨瓶
of ovoid form rising from a counter-sunk foot to a slender neck collared by a slightly domed small disk, the long neck continuing to a lipped rim, one side of the shoulder set with a tubular spout with an everted mouth and a hinged cover
Dimensions
35.6cm high; 929g
Provenance
Provenance: Han Collection, 17 August 2018, with a printed receipt.
Dr. Kenneth P. Lawley's inventory number: M.57.
Footnote
Note: Distinctively shaped containers like this were traditionally used in Asia as water sprinklers for Buddhist purification rituals. They were used to offer clean water to the altar or carried by Buddhist monks travelling for cultivation. This kundika type was popular during the Tang Dynasty and continued to be used in the northern regions of China during the Northern Song and Liao dynasties. It travelled with Buddhism through China to reach Korea. In Goryeo, bronze kundika were especially popular. Similar examples were also made in ceramics and glazed in celadon.
Several comparable examples cast in bronze and dated to the Goryeo dynasty are in museum collections, including two in the National Museum of Korea, accession nos. Sinsu 1973 and Sinsu 1364; one in the Brooklyn Museum, possession no. 74.27; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 23.115; and the other is in the British Museum, registration no. 1974,1031.1.
Please note this lot will be offered with no reserve. 本拍品不設底價