AN ARCHAIC BRONZE VESSEL, ZUN WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

the pear-shaped body elegantly rising from a splayed foot to a wide flared rim, crisply cast to the shoulders with two animal masks and a band of long-tailed birds, the interior with a thirty-character inscription

Schoenlicht Collection (by repute).

Sotheby's London, 16th May 2007, lot 229.

This vase is generally in good condition, however there is one area of the rim which has a dent (17mm), which is covered in encrustation and patina. There is a build up of malachite and dark encrustation to the rim and interior. There are also areas of encrustation to the exterior.
"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 thirty-character dedicatory inscription found in the interior of the vessel lists the many generations of ancestors for whom the vessel was made in the ninth month of the xiuzi year.  

Vessels of this 'S'- profile form came into existence after the handled zun, and were produced for a relatively short period of time. Their evolution in form over only a few decades generally moved from taller to shorter and squatter with the present example representing the latter type. They were also generally decorated with birds or dragons.

Compare a related example illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. IIB, Cambridge, Mass., 1990, cat. no. 90, together with a zun excavated from Shandong province, fig. 90.1.  See another vessel of similar form with raised bovine masks and a narrow frieze of low-relief dragons, sold in our New York rooms, 17th October 2001, lot 9; and an example of a long-tailed bird decorated zun from the Philips Collection sold in these rooms, 30th March 1978, lot 16.

Another zun of this type, in the Shandong Provincial Museum, is published in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 6, Beijing 1997, pl. 89; and a slightly larger vessel of similar form but decorated with the 'sun whorl' motif, sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2007, lot 534.