A PAIR OF CHINESE BRONZE RITUAL VESSELS, FANG

HAN DYNASTY 206BC - 220AD

The bulbous square-section bodies with short flared necks, each supported on a flared foot and each with a pair of taotie mask handles with loose rings to the sides, the covers with loops and hooks, 37.8cm. (4)

Cf. Artifacts in the Nanyue King's Tomb of Western Han Dynasty, National Museum of History, p.105, no. B60 for a similar vessel.

Vessels of this type have been excavated from several sites in China as far apart as Guangxi in the south and Hebei in the north.