A RARE BRONZE ARROW VASE, TOUHU, SONG - YUAN DYNASTYChina, 13th-14th century. The bottle-shaped body rising from a flaring foot to a long neck tapering towards the galleried rim and flanked by two tubular handles, cast to the body with a band of single-horned dragons above a leiwen ground, the neck and handles with a wider and narrower band of leiwen, the body and neck divided by two ribs and stiff leaves, the foot with further stiff leaves.Provenance: From a private estate in Staffordshire, United Kingdom.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, small nicks, light scratches, few dents, minor cracks, tiny losses, and casting flaws. Solid, naturally grown patina overall.Weight: 2,732 gDimensions: Height 38.8 cmExpert’s note: Large arrow vases from this early period are exceedingly rare, especially with a dragon design in such high relief. Further note the clever and elegant alignment of the two elongated narrow tubes with the neck of the vessel, which also serves as the main tube.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2014, lot 3384Price: HKD 325,000 or approx.EUR 47,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A Bronze Archaistic Arrow-Handled Vase Song / Yuan DynastyExpert remark:pare the related cast and design. Note the much smaller size (24.6 cm).宋至元銅投壺中國，十三至十四世紀。長直頸、兩側貫耳，圓鼓腹。鼓腹上雷紋地單角龍紋，頸部和手柄有寬窄不一的雷紋帶，頸部和腹部弦紋帶，頸部和足部修飾蕉葉紋。