Large brass lidded urn

small mid century slab vase by Marcello Fantoni (1915-2011) – Florence, Italy Signed and dated 1956 to the base Fantoni, Italy. Provenance: sourc...

Fabulous quality cast bronze double sided sunflower shaped door handle designed by Chrystiane Charles - silvered and ormolu finish, beautiful crisp casting, circa 1970, France. Pr...

A Chinese four-legged barrel-form brass urn cast and engraved with archaistic decoration from the 20th century. The gently rounded sides are cast with the dispersed elements of two taotie masks, Archaistic auspicious beasts formed by a pair of stylized and confronted dragons which constitutes the features of this mythical creature, abstractly rendered in low-relief hooked curls. Two bands of kui or passing dragons flank the taotie ornamentation on the belly, all upon an engraved and very finely delineated white leiwen ground symbolizing thunder. Raised on four atlantes with a few anatomical engraved details, the urn possesses a flat circular lid decorated with stylized birds and topped with a phoenix-shaped knob with a ring, a propitious symbol in Chinese art. The white engraved ground nicely contrasting with the dark patina along with the Archaistic traditional low relief decoration echoes Chinese archaic ritual bronzes used in ceremonies or buried in the tombs of the elites for use in the afterlife. This Chinese barrel...

Urn marble gray, Sweden. An urn or vase made in marble in Sweden, 20th century.