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AN INLAID BRONZE BEAKER WARRING STATES PERIOD, 5TH-3TH CENTURY BC
Estimate
100,000 - 120,000 USD
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Description
- bronze
the tall tapering body, resting on a low foot-ring, the sides divided by two broad silver bands into two registers, each inlaid with a pair of addorsed birds, interrupted by a small loop on each side of the upper body section, with malachite encrustation
Provenance
Collection of D. David-Weill.
Sotheby's London, 29th February 1972, lot 155.
Collection of Arthur M. Sackler.
Christie's New York, 25th March 2010, lot 1027.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York, September 2010.
Sotheby's London, 29th February 1972, lot 155.
Collection of Arthur M. Sackler.
Christie's New York, 25th March 2010, lot 1027.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York, September 2010.
Literature
Jenny F. So, Eastern Zhou Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, p. 416-8. no. 86.
Condition
A small triangular piece has been off and reattached on the rim. Under x ray examination there are several chaplets to the base. The surface has been partly cleaned to reveal the silver inlay.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
The present beaker is a rare example of Warring States inlaid work. It was once in the collection of the prominent European collector, D. David-Weill who donated art works to major museums such as the Musée Guimet and the Louvre. The present piece was sold in our London rooms in 1972 and thereafter to another important collector, Arthur M. Sackler, and is discussed and illustrated in Jenny So, op.cit., pp. 416-8, no. 86.
An inlaid bronze beaker of a slightly different form, excavated in Mancheng county, Hebei province is illustrated in Mancheng Hanmu fajue baogao II (A Report of Excavation of the Han Dynasty Tomb in Mancheng II), Beijing, 1980, pl. 39, no. 1:4273. A taller plain vessel of this shape in the Singer collection is illustrated in Max Loehr, Ritual Vessels of Bronze Age China, New York, 1968, p. 148, no. 66; compare also a set of stacked beakers from the Warring States period in the Katherine and George Fan Collection illustrated in Shouyang jijin (Ancient Chinese bronzes from the Shouyang Studio), Shanghai, 2008, p. 180, no. 66.
Jenny So, op.cit., comments that vessels of this kind “are known so far only from Warring States sites in Shandong Province, within the ancient realm of Qi.” She also believes the size and decoration of the present piece are "likely the result of later reworking."
An inlaid bronze beaker of a slightly different form, excavated in Mancheng county, Hebei province is illustrated in Mancheng Hanmu fajue baogao II (A Report of Excavation of the Han Dynasty Tomb in Mancheng II), Beijing, 1980, pl. 39, no. 1:4273. A taller plain vessel of this shape in the Singer collection is illustrated in Max Loehr, Ritual Vessels of Bronze Age China, New York, 1968, p. 148, no. 66; compare also a set of stacked beakers from the Warring States period in the Katherine and George Fan Collection illustrated in Shouyang jijin (Ancient Chinese bronzes from the Shouyang Studio), Shanghai, 2008, p. 180, no. 66.
Jenny So, op.cit., comments that vessels of this kind “are known so far only from Warring States sites in Shandong Province, within the ancient realm of Qi.” She also believes the size and decoration of the present piece are "likely the result of later reworking."