A very large archaic bronze tripod food vessel (ding) Late Shang / early Western Zhou dynasty, 11th / 10th century BC

the deep U-shaped body cast below the flattened everted rim and pair of upright loop handles with a single wide register of six large taotie masks, comprised of slit boss eyes and hooked ribbons cast with C-scrolls indicating the nose and horns, centered on thick notched flanges and reserved on a fine leiwen ground, all above three tapered columnar legs, each accented with a further taotie mask centrally divided by a notched flange above two raised filets

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

The overall condition is very good. UV light showed that there are no breaks or restoration. The surface has been cleaned and reveals an "old" patina with malachite and cuprite encrustation.
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 present vessel in its form, decoration and large size is a fine example of bronze ritual vessels made during the late Shang and early Western Zhou periods. See a somewhat larger ding, formerly at Bunmei and Co., Tokyo, illustrated in Sueji Umehara, Nihon shucho Shina kodo seikwa, vol. 3, Osaka, 1961, pl. 200. Umehara also illustrates another large ding with closely related design, in the Hakutsuru Art Museum, Kobe, ibid., pl. 199.

See also a related vessel included in Kaogu, 1974, no. 1, pl. 2, fig. 1, with other Western Zhou bronzes excavated at Xinwang and Mawang villages, Changan county, Shaanxi province; a ding from the Arthur M. Sackler collection illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, vol. IIB, Washington, 1990, pl. 2, sold at Christie's London, 15th June 1998, lot 35; and a somewhat larger ding with similar thick flanges, from the Ellsworth collection, sold in these rooms, 19th March 2002, lot 7.

For the general proportions and decoration, compare also a very large ding from the lavishly furnished Shang royal tomb of Fu Hao, consort of King Wu Ding (c. 1324-1265 B.C.), published in Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, pl. 5 and p. 41, fig. 28.