Lot 1121
Treasury 7, no. 1612 (‘Beaten Longevity’)
HK$10,000

Copper; with convex lip and slightly concave foot; with a repoussé design, identical on both main sides, of two confronting chi dragons above formalized rocky peaks and beneath a shou character in seal script and two formalized clouds; with a shoulder band of formalized lotus petals and a raised bead separating the shoulders from the neck
1700–1860
Height: 4.63 cm
Mouths/lips: 0.86/1.06 cm
Stoppers: glass; plastic collar

Provenance:
Max Chitters
Robert Kleiner (1993)

Published:
Kleiner 1995, no. 364
Treasury 7, no. 1612

Exhibited:
British Museum, London, June–October 1995
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, July–November 1997

The method of construction here is in no doubt. The design has been achieved by beating sheets of thin copper into the same mould twice, creating the two halves of the main bottle, including the neck. These were then soldered together, and the circular foot was soldered on as a third piece. The method is very obvious, since the design appears on the inside in negative, as always when a thin sheet of copper is beaten into a mould with an integral design. Details of the surface may then be chased with cold steel or iron, but the basic process is the repoussé method.

Since the bottle is the only one known, it is particularly difficult to date with much confidence, and it may be early; but we suspect a more likely date is the eighteenth century, and even the mid-Qing period. A piece of copper well used for a few decades could very easily exhibit wear of this nature; it is a soft material and wears easily.

This is not the Sotheby’s sale catalogue. This is a product of Hugh Moss for the purposes of this website. For the catalogue details please refer to Sotheby’s website or request a copy of a printed sale catalogue from Sotheby’s.