- 107
THE QUAN ZU XIN ZU GUI DING: AN IMPORTANT INSCRIBED BRONZE TRIPOD SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC
Description
- bronze
Provenance
Christie's New York, 21st September 2000, lot 160.
Sotheby's London, 19th June 2002, lot 73.
Private Asian Collection.
Literature
Luo Zhenyu, Surviving Writings from the Xia, Shang Zhou Dynasties, 1937, vol. 3, p. 1, fig. 3.
Yan Yiping, Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions, Taipei, 1983, no. 0753.
Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Compendium of Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions, Beijing, 1984-94, no. 02113.
Wang Xiantang, A Record of Bronze and Stone Inscriptions in Chinese History, Qingdao, 2004, no. 2011-2.
Wang Tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby’s and Christie’s Sales, Shanghai, 2007, no. 60.
Wu Zhenfeng, Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Shanghai, 2012, no. 01499.
Condition
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.
Catalogue Note
According to a number of oracle bone inscriptions, Lord Quan led several royal clans into battle with the Zhou people (Heji: 6812 front); other sources record that Lord Quan made human sacrifices of the Qiang tribe men (Tunnan: 2493). There are more than twenty ritual bronzes bearing the name Quan, all dating from the Late Shang dynasty to the early Western Zhou period. On some of the Shang bronzes, Quan is associated with the official title ‘Ya’ as Ya Quan.
The style of the calligraphy here is well executed and with a strong pictographical element.