J.J. Lally: Silver and Gold in Ancient China

The hexagonal vessel of tall slender form decorated with six gilded figures in high relief including a dancer, a drummer and four different musicians playing Chinese instruments centering each of the six flat tapering sides, further decorated with a ring-matte punched ground embellished with incised foliate and cloud motifs above and below each figure, and with incised borders of overlapping petal motifs framing each panel, the sloping shoulders and tapering narrow neck also decorated with floral motifs on ring-punched grounds within petal-borders and the upright cylindrical spout and high arch-form handle similarly decorated, standing on a plain splayed hexagonal ring foot and with a small stepped cover with incised foliate decoration surmounted by a large gilded flame-shaped finial.

This shell-shaped silver cover with domed surface finely decorated with a fenghuang bird with fan-shaped crest and long luxurious tail feathers shown walking with wings displayed, surrounded by exotic blooms and lush foliage borne on long curling stems, the decoration all freely incised in outline and with fine stippling and linear details, reserved on a dense ring-punched ground, and enclosed within a narrow plain border around the rim and downturned narrow sides which are angled over the edge of the natural clam shell base, with a small silver ring at one side of the cover linked by a silver chain to a similar ring on a peg drilled through and attached to the shell.

This breathtaking set comprised of nine repoussé decorated bands, five florette tassels, six hollow beads, and twenty-nine sequins, the largest band decorated in shallow relief with a frieze of round-faced boys wearing lotus-petal skirts and bead necklaces shown grasping the strands of an undulating foliate scroll sprouting palmette motifs between beaded borders punched with tiny holes for attachment. The shorter two narrow bands each decorated with similar undulating foliate scroll sprouting palmette motifs in a continuous pattern between beaded borders, the six small bands decorated with overlapping undulating ropetwist pattern between beaded borders. The five tassels each in the form of an eight-petal florette pierced through the center to receive a thin pendant gold strip of tapered form, and the twenty-nine sequins all of teardrop shape, slightly convex on one side and concave on the other, pierced at the top for suspension. Finally, he six beads thinly cast with a mould line across the waist; all the elements showing a higher polish on the front and slightly matte on the reverse, one of the medium-size narrow bands with an ancient repair visible only on the back.

The deep flower-form bowl with two tiers of twenty-four slender petals each recessed on the interior and convex on the exterior, rising to a scalloped rim with inset gilt-edged lip, the domed center of the interior imitating the center of the flower, with rows of rounded bosses above a collar of gilded leaf tips, raised on a hollow tapered foot also petal-lobed and flaring to a scalloped edge.

‘Asia Week’ is a great opportunity for everyone interested in Asian art to gather and exchange ideas while feasting their eyes on the best Asian art exhibitions in museums and specialist art galleries. At J.J. Lally & Co. we have spent several years hunting for and gathering together the rare ancient Chinese silver and gold works of art which we will be exhibiting March 16-April 14, and many of the other 33 Asian art galleries participating in ‘Asia Week’ have made an equal or greater effort. Asia Week’ is a scholarly event, a social event and a great art market event which draws aficionados from all around the world. – Mr. Jim Lally