An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel and cover (lei) Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th / 10th century BC

the large vessel of ovoid form, supported on a tall splayed foot, bodly cast around the prominent shoulders with six sun whorls in raised relief, interrupted by a pair of bovine head loop handles suspending loose ring handles, all below two raised filets encircling the waisted neck, the domed cover cast with a similar band of four raised sun whorls before the circular knop, the surface covered with malachite encrustation (2)

Sotheby's New York, 23rd March 2004, lot 582.

The overall condition is good. UVlight revealed that there appears to be no restoration. The surface has malachite encrustation that has been slightly cleaned. The cover has been cleaned. The spacers / chaplets are visible just below the shoulder (also visible in the catalogue illustration). There is a 1 cm patch with a small 2mm dent, made possibly for testing. The underside of the base has a double-loop on the interior of the footring (one of the loops is broken).
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.

It is rare to find lei of this form complete with a cover which also features the distinctive raised whorl-motif medallions. 

A lei with a matching cover, excavated from the early Western Zhou tomb of Yu Bo at the Zhifangtou cemetary in Baoji, Shaanxi province, is illustrated in Lu Liangcheng and Hu Zhisheng, Baoji  Yu guo mudi/ Yu State Cemeteries in Baoji, vol. 1, Beijing, 1988, fig. 28: 1 and vol. 2, col. pl. 7, fig. 2 and pl. 10, fig. 3; another is published in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, 1987, pl. 75, together with a similar piece without cover, pl. 76, both attributed to the late Shang period (12th / 11th century B.C.).

Two further examples have been published, one excavated in Shaanxi province, included in Shaanxi chutu Shang Zhou qingtongqi, vol. 1, Beijing, 1979, pl. 131; and the other in the Sumitomo collection published in Umehara Sueji, Shinshu sen-oku sei-sho, Kyoto, 1971, col. pl. XXIII.

Five vessels of this type without covers were included in a hoard discovered at Beidongcun, Liaoning province, which is attributed to the Anyang period of the Shang dynasty; see Kaogu, 1973, no. 4, pl. 6, fig. 3, pl. 7, and p. 226, figs. 2 and 3, one of them illustrated again in Zhongguo meishu quanji: Gongyi meishu bian, vol. 4, Beijing, 1989, pl. 79.

A closely related lei lacking its cover was sold in these rooms, 19th September 2001, lot 3; and another was sold in our London rooms, 18th November 1998, lot 802.