AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL VESSEL, GU SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH CENTURY BC

of slender form with a trumpet mouth, crisply cast in low relief with four upright lappet blades emerging from a band of taotie masks, the faces with raised bosses for eyes centered and divided by notched flanges and reserved on a leiwen ground, above double raised filets separating the central bulbous segment from the tall flaring foot similarly cast with taotie masks between notched flanges, with a pictogram to the inner wall of the foot, the surface with malachite encrustation

Christie's London, 17th June 1985, lot 369.

This sharpley cast gu is in very good overall condition with the exception of heavy encrustation and nibbles predominantly around the rim and foot, a circa 1.5cm., long hairline fracture to the base of the foot, a similar line running 2.5cm., diagonally across the central section, and a circa 2 x 3cm., area of casting imperfection to the side of the spreading foot. There is an X-ray of this bronze available for viewing in the department.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The pictogram on this bronze gu represents a man in full view holding up a child (xi zi sun).

A closely related vessel is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Collection Julius Eberhardt, Hong Kong, n.d. (1999), no. 40; for other comparable gu see Five Thousand Years of Chinese Art Series. Shang Chou Dynasty Bronze VII, Taipei, 1990, col. pls. 14 and 15, monochrome pls. 55 and 56, and figs. 111, 115-6, 121-2. A related vessel, from the Robert Ellsworth collection, was sold in our New York rooms, 19^th March 2002, lot 5; and another, from the Falk collection and included in the exhibition Neolothic to Ming, Chinese Objects - the Myron S. Falk Collection, Smith College Museum of Art, Northhampton, Massachusetts, 1957, cat.no. 2, was sold at Christie's New York, 20^th September 2001, lot 165.

Gu vessels of this elegant form were used as wine containers. They date to as early as the Erlitou phase of the Shang dynasty, circa 2000 to 1500 B.C., during which time they were generally decorated with a single design band and were of stouter form, as can be seen on lot 525 in this catalogue. By the Anyang period of the 12-11^th century B.C. the form had evolved to a more slender graceful type with a wide trumpet-form mouth to accentuate the beauty of the vessel.