193. RARE GRAND VASE BALUSTRE EN BRONZE TACHETÉ D'OR XVIIe/XVIIIe siècle A RARE LARGE GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE 'PHOENIX-TAIL' VASE 17th/18th century With a generously rounded body tapering to a high flared foot, cast with a row of bosses around the lower body and a band of petal-lappets around the shoulder, surmounted by a tall trumpet neck, with wide flared rim, set with a pair of dragon handles above two bow-string bands, the bronze a deep golden-brown colour, liberally splashed around the exterior with irregular gold splashes, the base cast with a two-character Xuande mark in relief. 40.8cm (16in) high. 十七/十八世紀 銅灑金雙龍耳鳳尾尊「宣德」款 Provenance: Collection of Theodor Werner Gustav Tiemann (d. 1961), Bremen, acquired in China in the 1920s, thence by descent to his godson Wolf-Christian Delius, Bielefeld, acquired from the family 來源： Theodor Werner Gustav Tiemann（逝於1961年）珍藏，不來梅，於1920年代得自中國，後傳至其教子Wolf-Christian Delius，比勒費爾德 現藏家得自上述來源 The origin of gold-splashed decoration on bronzes remains a source of speculation. According to Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss in Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, p.184, the popularity of this surface decoration was possibly fostered by Xuande bronzes of the Ming dynasty when the appearance of the gilt-splashes was accidentally caused by the uneven surface patination of the vessel. Robert Mowry also suggests that the appearance of fine paper speckled with gold and silver in the 15th century 'might have also played a role in the creation of such abstract decoration', see Robert D. Mowry, China's Renaissance in Bronze. The Robert H. Clague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900, Phoenix, 1993, p.169. Compare this vase with a vase of the same shape but larger size, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 3387.