A BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL (DING) WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

raised on three columnar legs and set with a pair of upright handles, flanged at the rim and cast on the sides with eight spaced whorls interspersed with eight masks with C-shaped horns and raised eyes, all reserved on a continuous band of leiwen inlaid with black lacquer, mottled green patina, a single pictogram cast on the interior base

Collection of Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970), bequeathed to his wife.
Collection of Paulette Goddard Remarque (1910-1990).
Sotheby's New York, 6th December 1989, lot 26.

X-ray images reveal that one leg has been reattached. There is an approximate 7.5 cm section of the rim out and restuck. There is a long (approximately 11.5 cm) crack from the rim. The surface with wear, some chips and heavily encrusted in sections.
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.

Erich Maria Remarque, a writer best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front, became an avid art collector following his move to America in the 1940s. His passion for early Chinese bronzes is referenced in his last novel, published posthumously in 1972. The book Shadows in Paradise is set in New York in the 1940s after the war, and at one point the novel's protagonist spots a Chinese bronze and observes, "This patina had the faint shimmer that the unpolished Chou bronzes in the museum derived from their porousness; it did not absorb light like artificial patina but reflected it, taking on the texture of coarse raw silk." Several of Remarque's bronze collection was sold by his wife, the actress Paulette Goddard, Sotheby's London, 13th December 1977, lots 207-226.