Identification

Hello! I am looking to see if anyone might recognize this piece. Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

It appears to be an antique Chinese bronze vessel. But doubtful it is. Let's see what others say.

Debora

 

If you were to turn the final photo 90 degrees, would one see a hole through the two lugs right through to the chamber?

If the are holes, my guess would be it is a very ornate sump for some flowing liquid.

 

I believe the form is called a "fang lei" (or "fanglei"), similar to this:


https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/35391/

To determine if yours is actually an ancient vessel, you might need to put it in the hands of a specialist in Chinese bronzes. Chinese antiquities have been reproduced for centuries, in varying qualities.

Here is some basic information from Christie's:
https://www.christies.com/features/Collecting-guide-Ancient-Chinese-bronzes-8638-1.aspx

@ForgetfulExplorer - -when looking for identifications, it is very helpful if you can provide as much information to us as you can - dimensions, what material you think an item is made of, where you acquired it (context), and what you may have been told about it. Photos can only convey part of the picture.

 

Thank you for your knowledge! I will try to be more detailed next time.

Upon looking closely at the material, I cannot actually tell what it is, it does look green underneath the top layer of...dirt maybe?

It measures 11in tall and 7in wide.

I bought it from an older couple here locally in a small town in Texas and when I asked what it was, they replied with "we have no idea"

 

Hello! There are no holes of that nature.

 

I think your fang lei is antique, but not from the Chinese Archaic period.
Archaic bronzes like those of the Shang and Western Zhou periods are more thin-walled, and the decoration is more precise and refined.

Chinese love history, and they began to collect antiques very early on. Because of their love of history, they also began to make replicas centuries ago. So not fakes, but replicas, or 'made in the style of'.
Yours isn't that old, but I think it could be 19th century.
It is an impressive piece to have.

It is bronze, the green is verdigris, but in this case 'controlled' verdigris, so not harmful. Looks like it stood outside for some time, and gathered some dirt over the years.

 

Since this is posted in the Pottery forum I did want to ask if it might not be stoneware or pottery. Perhaps the OP can give a tap or two and see if it sounds like metal.

 

This is probably going to be of no help but it sounds like it could either be metal or some sort of stone, it is a higher pitched "clank". But here is a picture of a couple pieces that have broken off, maybe it will help for material purposes.

 

looks like a stone break......maybe a jade break?

 

Thats what it looks like to me. I took it to someone today, they have a gem shop and they couldn't tell. I will keep searching

 

don't buy from them.......!!

 

Ditto, so not bronze.
There are also stone-like spots here and there (serpentine?) and there could be some translucency in the parts I circled:

 

That does look like it could be similar, I think I might just clean this thing up, that might help a whole lot

 

I'd say don't do that until you know what it is.

Why not send some photos to some if the better auction houses if no one here knows what it is?

 

That is yours.

 

I will wait for responses, I have sent it in to a few!

 

Well, that break sends us off in a different, non-bronze direction. Here are some examples of Chinese jade carvings done in "archaic" style. These are attributed to the 19th - 20th centuries - I have not found similar examples from antiquity. These are approximately the same size as your object, whereas the genuine bronze examples tend to be larger. If you item is jade, or a similar hardstone such as serpentine, I have no idea what has happened to the surface. A geologist may be able to confirm the identity of the stone, but you will probably have to take it to them for examination. A hardness test may be sufficient.


https://www.adams.ie/109136/A-JADE-...e=50&page_no=1&sort_by=lot_no&view=lot_detail


https://www.bidsquare.com/online-au...inese-archaic-carved-jade-lidded-urns-2209914


https://www.chinafurnitureonline.co...evity-motif-chinese-jade-imperial-vase-ajvase

 

These weren't made in stone in the Archaic period.
As far as I know, carving 'replicas' of bronzes from serpentine is something that was mostly done in the 20th and 21st centuries, but could have been done in the 19th century too. I have seen many serpentine replicas from the early 20th century, recent ones too.

 

That was my assumption, but I didn't know for sure. The company with the last example I posted, chinafurnitureonline.co, seems to be at least one source for such contemporary creations.