Among all the Chinese bronzes Clayton Korver has collected over the years, this remains his favorite, admired for its unusual subject matter and commanding sculptural presence. Discovered during one of his buying trips to Chengdu, China, the piece immediately stood apart from the countless ritual vessels he had encountered. This large archaistic Chinese bronze rhinoceros zun reflects a modern reverence for the ritual bronze traditions of ancient China, drawing inspiration from early ceremonial wine vessels used in ancestral and state rites. Modeled in the form of a rhinoceros, with a three-sided body and a central lid crowned by a mythical bird, it evokes the imaginative hybridity found in Shang and Zhou dynasty bronzes. Finished in a rich green-blue patina reminiscent of centuries of natural oxidation, the vessel conveys an intentional sense of antiquity and enduring symbolic artistry.