A rare and unusual archaic food vessel and cover (Gui) Western Zhou dynasty, 10th / 9th Century BC

the body of globular form, flanked on each side by loop handles issuing from bovine masks and terminating with pendant tails, accented with a narrow band enclosing six highly stylized confronting gui dragons bearing boss eyes and divided by a low flange, cast in thread-relief below the rim and encircling the splayed foot, repeated again along the edge of the low domed cover around the circular knop, the cover and interior of the vessel cast with matching single pictogram, the light green patina with malachite encrustation (2)

Acquired by the present owner in the early 1990s; prior to that, on the Japanese art market in the early 1980s.

Min Chiu Society exhibition, 1999 - 2000.
Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2001 - 2006.

UV light revealed that the vessel and cover are structurally in very good condition. The encrustation has been cleaned back to reveal a very smooth surface and clear decoration.
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 single pictograph found in the interior of both the vessel and the cover is the character ge,  which depicts a dagger-like weapon. 

It is rare to find bronze gui with matching covers. See a gui of similar globular form illustrated in Sueji Umehara, Nihon shucho Shina kodo seikwa, vol. II, Osaka, 1960, pl. CXI, from the Otsuka Collection; and another of related shape sold in our London rooms, 14th July 1970, lot 52; and again at Christie's London, 14th July 1980, lot 20.