A COPPER ALLOY 'PHOENIX AND SUN' BASIN AND A LACQUER BASE 19th century Basin 32.3cm diam., base:39.0 x 39.0 x 14.5cm Footnotes: Provenance: Moss Green, Melbourne, 16 Nov 2015, lot 28 清十九世紀 白銅⌈丹鳳朝陽⌋洗 朱漆承 傳承： 墨爾本 Moss Green，2015年11月16日，拍品28號 This type of copper alloy, known in southern China as 'paktong' (Cantonese for 'white copper'), is composed of copper, nickel and zinc. The use of copper-nickel alloys in China has a long history, traceable to as early as the 4th century. By the 17th and 18th centuries, such wares were exported to Europe, and the term 'paktong' became widely adopted, reflecting Canton's role as a major export port for these materials. Among the more accomplished products of later Chinese white copper manufacture are hand-worked basins such as the present lot, which were often commissioned as opulent wedding gifts. For a comparable basin of similar quality, decorated with a leaping carp, another popular auspicious motif in Qing dynasty China, see Arts of Asia, Nov-Dec 1992, p.121, fig 6. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing