A SMALL ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL AND COVER (FANGLEI) LATE SHANG / WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

of rectangular section with wide shoulders tapering towards the splayed foot, the straight neck decorated with two bow-string bands, supporting a high-domed cover of conforming outline surmounted by a similarly shaped finial atop a square-sectioned post, the base of the cover and the shoulders encircled by a band of raised circular whorls, the sides interrupted by a pair of loop handles surmounted by bovine heads, with an additional handle on the front set just above the foot, the interior of the neck cast with three pictographs, the surface covered with a mottled milky green patina and patches of malachite and earth encrustation (2)

Old Japanese collection, formed prior to World War II.

Under optical, ultraviolet (UV) light and x ray examination the vessel has restored breaks to the foot, a couple of filled patches on the body and chaplets on the base. The patina on the body and cover have been retouched to match the patina on the foot to disguise the restored base. The cover has several filled patches. The vessel is greener than the catalogue illustration.
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.

The inscription reads zuo X yi. The first pictograph is the character zuo (made) and the third is the character yi (vessel). The second pictograph is likely a personal name and the inscription possibly means that X had this vessel made.

This type of vessel existed as a wine container for only a short period during the late Shang to early Western Zhou dynasty, during which both highly decorated and plain fanglei were made and used side-by-side. Previously, the compressed, rounded vessel known as pou was used. The fanglei did not survive long into the Zhou dynasty and by the middle Western Zhou period the form had disappeared.

The handles on the shoulders would have allowed the vessel to be carried or tied down with a cord, while a cord through the third handle would have held it secure as its contents were being poured out. This present lot is not only exceptional for its bold simple decoration but also for its unusually small size. One slightly smaller in size at 12½ in. and with more elaborate decoration was sold at Christie's New York, 17th September 2008, lot 554.  An example also dating from the Early Western Zhou dynasty with similar simple decoration from the Shaanxi Fufeng Shaogong gongshe is illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. IIB, Washington D.C., 1990, p. 607, fig. 94.8.