A PAIR OF PAINTED CERAMIC SQUARE VASES, FANGHU
China, Han dynasty

The walls of the body marked by a curve that reaches maximum amplitude in the lower area and then progressively reduced towards the mouth, the outer surface painted in polychrome for a decoration divided by horizontal bands, with stylized animals and geometric patterns.

21 cm high each

Provenance: Fabrizio Savi collection, acquired from Brian Page, Brighton, United Kingdom, between 1995 and 2000.
This shape came into vogue at the end of the Warring States Period, also used for lacquers and bronzes. A vase very similar to these, with a lid, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (inv. C.628-1925).