AN IMPRESSIVE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, GU LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC

the slender middle section rising from a flaring foot to a trumpet neck, crisply cast around the central bulb with stylised taotie masks centred and divided by notched flanges, the neck with four upright triangular blades decorated with dissolved taotie masks in relief against a leiwen ground above a band of angular serpents, the foot similarly decorated with taotie masks and cicadas in relief against a leiwen ground, with two bowstrings and two crosses dividing the waist and foot, the bronze with an attractive olive patina with malachite encrustations, the base with an inscription reading Hu ju (Tiger chariot)

Purchased by a European Vice Consul in Shanghai in the early 1940s.

The vessel is in good condition with the exception of restoration to a circa 12cm., hairline crack running in an arc through one of the upright blades, 6cm., below the rim, visible internally and externally, with associated crazing.
"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."

Outstanding for its remarkably preserved crisp decoration, which compliments the elegant silhouette of the sweeping neck, this gu is characteristic of ritual bronze vessels of the final stage of the development in Anyang. This late style is characterised by the high-relief motifs against dense ground patterns. The most refined examples, such as the present piece, feature intaglio designs on the main taotie masks and a ground interspersed with leiwen-spirals. The two pictograms cast inside the foot may be translated as hu ju (tiger chariot), and is likely to be a clan name.

 

A closely related gu, from the Sackler collection in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Washington D.C., is illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Washington D.C., 1987, pl. 38; another, unearthed in 2001 from Huayuanzhuang village, Anyang city, Henan province, is published in Yinxu xunchutu qingtongqi [Ritual bronzes recently excavated in Yinxu], Kunming, 2008, pl. 62; and a third, from the collections of H.E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos and Julius Eberhardt, and included in the exhibition Mostra d’Arte Cinese, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 6, was sold in our New York rooms, 17^th September 2013, lot 1.