A BRONZE DRAGON-HEAD WINE VESSEL, YI Yuan DynastyA BRONZE DRAGON-HEAD WINE VESSEL, YIYuan Dynasty The vessel raised on a flat base rising to a lipped rim, the S-shaped loop handle formed by the tail of a dragon incised with scales with its head on the opposite side as a spout, the body decorated with wave pattern. 24.5cm (9 5/8in) wide.元 青銅龍首匜Provenance:A Portuguese private collection, acquired in the first half of the 20th century and thence by descent來源: 葡萄牙私人舊藏，得於20世紀上半葉，後由家族傳承See a related Yuan dynasty bronze dragon-head vessel in the Saint Louis Art Museum, illustrated by Philip K. Hu, Later Chinese Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E. Kresko Collections, Saint Louis, 2008, pl.11. Originated from bronze water vessel in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, yi vessels had been used as wine vessels since the Song and Yuan dynasties pairing with cups and stands, later more commonly made with gold, silver and jade but without a handle. See a Yuan dynasty silver dragon-head yi vessel and a gold dragon-head yi vessel, illustrated by Z.S. Yang, Shehua zhise: Song Yuan Ming jinyinqi yanjiu (The Study of Gold and Silver Wares of Song, Yuan Ming Dynasties), Beijing, 2011, vol.3, pp.98-99. The wave patterns on the body is characteristic of Song and Yuan dynasties bronzes, see the pattern on a Yuan dynasty square hu in the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art, illustrated by D. Failla in Food for the Ancestors Flowers for the Gods, Genoa, 2017, pl.7.10. 匜圓唇，微鼓腹，腹外壁飾水波紋，平底，流鑄單角龍首，龍口微張，鋬作龍尾，呈S形。美國聖路易斯藝術博物館藏一件元代青銅龍首匜與本件非常相似，見Philip K. Hu著，《Later Chinese Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E. Kresko Collections》, 聖路易斯，2008年，編號11。匜本為東周青銅禮器中水器，宋元之後取其形做酒器，常與杯盞搭配，俗稱為馬盂或馬杓。金銀玉器中常見此器，惟多不帶柄，比較兩件元代銀龍首馬杓及一件金龍首馬杓，見揚之水著，《奢華之色：宋元明金銀器研究》，北京，2011年，卷3，頁98及99。器身所飾水波紋為宋元銅器常見式樣，可參考意大利熱那亞國立愛德華多·基歐索尼東方藝術博物館所藏一件元代方壺頸部之海水波紋，見D.Failla，《Food for the Ancestors Flowers for the Gods》，熱那亞，2017年，圖版7.10。