Thursday, January 6, 2011

Cross-Cultural Curiosity

This is one of the most intriguing pieces of vintage Asian decoration we've discovered to date. Designed in the Archaic Chinese Bronze style, and likely based on an actual antiquity found in the National Palace Museum of Taiwan (its country of origin). 
But, there is humorous surprise to behold. It's an ice bucket! Somehow I don't think Chang Kai-Shek would have used such a bar accessory while mixing his exotic cocktails, but it sure is an amazing piece of mid-century mixed media!
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 20, 2013 at 1:36 AM

    it's called a Chinese Ding and is used in rituals where food is placed inside and left as offerings.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2015 at 8:31 PM

    These were very popular with embassy and military stationed in Taiwan in the 50s and 60s. And they were typically sold to foreigners as ice buckets. Leave it to pragmatic Taiwanese merchant to find markets outside of the ritual.

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