A rare large archaic bronze ritual food vessel (yu) Late Shang dynasty, 12th / 11th Century BC

supported on a tall flaring pedestal foot, the deep U-shaped body rising to an everted rim, cast with a wide register of raised bosses reserved against a lozenge ground formed by leiwen diapers, set between a band of six pairs of confronting birds with raised slit-bosses for eyes centered on bovine masks and divided by notched flanges encircling the rim, and a similarly cast band of confronting birds centered on and divided by notched flanges around the foot, the interior with a five-character pictogram, the gray patina covered with malachite encrustation

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

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

The vessel has had some restoration, including 14 of the bosses which have been reglued. There is a restored chip to the mouthrim approximately 2 inches wide and some minor retouching to the details of one of the animal masks. Traces of original textile imprints are found on the rim and there are ample traces of malachite and cuprite encrustation overall.
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 inscription consists of the pictograph xi zi sun (man holding up a child), the character bai (white) and the cyclical character gui.

A similar yu excavated at Subutun, Qingzhou, Shandong province, is illustrated in Lu Changling, Shandong wenwu jinghua, Beijing, 1996, pl. 101; and another from the Mount Trust collection is illustrated in William Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962, pl. 4b. Compare also a yu excavated at Yentou village, Suide county, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Wenwu, 1975, no. 2, p. 87, fig. 19; another, illustrated in H.F.E. Visser, Asiatic Art in Private Collections in Holland and Belgium, Amsterdam, 1948, pl. 11, no. 12, sold in our London rooms, 30th March 1978, lot 1; and a third comparable example, from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 1st December 1994, lot 124.