A VERY RARE BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL (JIA) LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC

the deep rounded body resting on three blade-like legs, finely cast around the sides with three taotie masks with prominent eyes, open jaws exposing hooked fangs and C-shaped horns, flanked by a pair of descending kui dragons, each centered on a plain shallow flange repeated above the narrow band of confronted dragons, the gently flared lip decorated with upright blades filled with cicadas, set with two posts surmounted by a pair of large waisted finials, each cast with blades and interlocked 'T'-scroll border and with sunken whorl-pattern on top, with a strap handle on one side, a single pictogram cast in the center of the interior, reading ding

Collection of David H. H. Feliz.
Christie's New York, 2nd December 1989, lot 28.
Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 3.

The posts have been broken off and reattached. There is a restored crack on the strap handle; otherwise this piece is in overall good condition.
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 Jia is among the first four bronze vessel types to appear in China’s Bronze Age. It continued to play a central role in ritual ceremonies until the middle Western Zhou dynasty. Jia vessels of the present type are typical of the early phase of the Anyang period, circa 13th century BC.  A very similar jia vessel excavated in 1959 at Wuguan village, Anyang city, is discussed and illustrated in Excavation of Yinxu 1958-1961, Beijing, 1987, p. 240, pl. 58. Another similar jia with an inscription reading mu ya, unearthed from Henan province and now in the Henan Provincial Museum, is discussed and illustrated in the Zhongguo wenwu jinghua dacidian: qingtong juan, (The Grand Dictionary of Gems of Chinese Cultural Relics: Bronzes), Shanghai, 1995, p. 53, no. 185.

The pictogram, which shows a tripod food vessel ding, is a clan sign that can also been seen on other bronze vessels, such as the ding in the Tenri Sankokan, Nara; a fangyi in Shanghai, and a zun and two you in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; see Noel Barnard and Cheung Kwong-yue, Rubbings and Hand Copies of Bronze Inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, European, American, and Australasian Collections, Taipei, 1978, vol. 8, nos. 1610-1613.