A MASSIVE 'IMITATION BRONZE' HU-FORM VASE Qianlong seal mark, 19th centuryPROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTIONA MASSIVE 'IMITATION BRONZE' HU-FORM VASEQianlong seal mark, 19th centuryThe bulbous body rising from a spreading foot to a waisted neck and wide mouth, the shoulders set with a pair of taotie mask-form handles each suspending a mock loose ring, the body carved in multiple layers of relief with the dominant motifs picked out in gilt against a black ground imitating bronze, the widest part of the body and the shoulder carved with two bands of archaistic interlocking kuilong scroll in high relief against a leiwen ground, all between a band of upright lappets at the neck each enclosing scrollwork and a pair of confronting tapir heads, and a band pendent lappets at the lower body each enclosing a pair of confronting bird heads, the spaces between the lappets splashed with 'robin's egg' glaze and gilt imitating oxidization, the foot and mouth each with bands of abstract archaistic motifs, the interior of the neck and the base also glaze-splashed and gilt with the faux-oxidation effect, the base centered by an impressed and gilt six-character Qianlong seal mark.20 1/4in (51.4cm) high十九世紀 龍紋雙耳仿古銅壺瓶《大清乾隆年制》篆書款Provenance:American Private Collection, acquired before 1968 Chia-Chu and Siao-Mei Chang CollectionChristie's, New York, 13-14 September 2012, lot 1586Christie's, New York, 19 September 2014, lot 976