A PAIR OF ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSELS (JUE) SHANG DYNASTY, 12TH / 11TH CENTURY BC

each cast with a deep 'U'-shaped body, raised on three blade-form tapering legs, two pictographs cast beneath the loop handle on one side issuing from a bovine head and centered on two finely cast taotie masks divided by low vertical flanges forming a continuous frieze around the sides, a band of finely cast upright blades rising beneath the flared rim extending towards the edges of the rim from which rise two capped upright posts, with a mottled green patina and some encrustation (2)

Alice Boney, 1958.
The Falk Collection.
Christie's New York, 16th October 2001, lot 164.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York.

Under optical, ultraviolet (UV) light and x ray examination the pair of jue are in overall good condition. Typical minor chips to the rim and legs. Small impressions to the top of the legs. One of the jue has speckled pigmentation to the base and legs. The wine vessels are slightly less yellow and green in color compared to the catalogue illustration.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The first of the two pictographs under the handle is the character zi, meaning 'son'.  This character appears on one jue as the mirror image of the other. The second pictograph appears to be an arrow set between two flames and is possibly a clan name. 

A jue with similar design, also dated to 12th / 11th century BC, is illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, p. 195, no. 18. Two other similar jue are also illustrated in Bagley, ibid., p. 251, figs. 36.1 (in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, no. 46.396) and 36.3. Both vessels are inscribed with the pictographs for the characters zi and wei.

A similar jue of identical size from the Sano Art Museum was sold in these rooms, 14th September 2011, lot 263.