A large archaic bronze ritual food vessel and cover (ding) Spring and Autumn period

the compressed globular body standing on three short waisted legs, stamped around the body and domed cover with separate friezes enclosing repeating motifs of finely entwined serpents issuing from arrow-head masks with feathery crests, flanked below the rim by taotie mask-and-ring handles above a pronounced rib around the widest part of the body accentuated with finely incised scrollwork, all below three outward-facing recumbent bovine finials on the cover, the dark patina with malachite encrustation (2)

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

Under UV light, the sides of the body around the rim and cover have been broken and restuck from large original pieces. The lid opens with ease and the loose rings appear to be original to the piece. The overall condition is still good and commensurate with age and burial.
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.

A ding of very similar form, size and decoration but with ring handles also suspending from the three recumbent bovine finials, formerly in the Mayer collection and now in the Matsuoka Museum, Tokyo, is illustrated in Max Loehr, Ritual Vessels of Bronze Age China, New York, 1968, pl. 64. Compare also another closely related example excavated at Jinying village, Taiyuan, Shanxi province, published in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 8, Beijing, 1995, pls. 25-26.

See also a vessel of this form but with less elaborate decoration on the body and cover sold in our London rooms, 10th December 1985, lot 1; and another related vessel with similar domed cover applied with three recumbent bovines but decorated with floral medallions between narrow bands of interlaced serpent-like dragons, from the Joseph Homberg collection, sold in our London rooms, 19th July 1949, lot 92.