A FINE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL (GUI) SHANG DYNASTY

the deep rounded sides with flattened everted rim, the body set with a pair of loop handles springing from bovine-masks, decorated with a broad band of raised bosses on a ground of diamond shapes below a narrow band of four stylized kui dragons in low relief separated by two animal masks, all supported on a hollow pedestal foot encircled by a band of confronted stylized kui dragons, inscribed to the center of the interior with a single pictogram, all beneath a silvery patina with rich green malachite encrustation

Old Japanese Collection.

The x-ray image shows that the vessel is in overall good condition. It shows a line running from the rim extending approximately three inches into the body in the center of one side which may be either a crack or a casting flaw. The patina has been polished off and there is very little light encrustation to the inside of the vessel and on the outside rim. The remaining patina is of a slightly more light green stone than the catalogue illustration suggests.
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.

Designs incorporating bosses framed by diagonal lines enclosing leiwen appear to have been used mostly on round-bodied vessels from the Anyang period, as a number of examples discovered in the tomb of Fu Hao demonstrates. They appear, however, more commonly on bronze vessels excavated from sites in Shaanxi province as Jessica Rawson notes. See Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Vol. IIB, Washington, D.C., 1990, p. 378. Bronze vessels with handles such as this gui, are rarer. Compare an example excavated from Liquan Xian in Shaanxi province, illlutratated ibid., p. 378, fig. 41.1.