A LARGE AND RARE BRONZE WINE VESSEL AND COVER (YOU) LATE SHANG / EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH / 11TH CENTURY BC

of oval section, the broad pear-shaped body raised on a splayed foot cast with a narrow band of kuilong, decorated at the neck with a similar kuilong band, centered on each side with an animal-mask in relief, the shoulder set with two loops attached to the rope-twist arched handle, the waisted domed cover surmounted by a hollow cylindrical knop, the surface with mottled malachite and azurite encrustation, the interior of the vessel and cover both with a six-character inscription reading X zuo zu ding zun yi, (X made this precious sacrificial vessel for ancestor Ding), wood stand, two Japanese wood boxes (7)

X-rays reveal a crack in the side of the cover. Overall the vessel is in good condition. There is encrustation throughout, and the interior of the cover and vessel have been cleaned to reveal the inscription. One side of the footring with stabilized bronze disease.
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 box for this lot is inscribed with a note by Zouroku Hata. 

The first pictogram inscribed on the interior and under the lid of this vessel is likely to represent a clan name and is also found on a bronze ding in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Chen Peifen, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Shanghai Museum, London, 1995, pl. 33; and on a gui in the Musée Cernuschi published in Vadime Elisseeff, Bronzes Archaiques Chinois, Paris, 1977, pl. 11.

Similar you vessels of this elliptical shape and with rope-twist handles, but with a segmented knop on the cover, include one excavated at Zhangjiapo, Chang’an, Shaanxi province, and illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, vol. IIB, Washington D.C., 1990, fig. 68.3, where the author discusses the gradual development of the you shape from a short and round vessel to a taller and elongated type, p. 496. See also a related you, but decorated on the shoulder with a diamond pattern, in the Meiyintang collection, published in Wang Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, pl. 26; and a further example of slightly smaller size, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Masterworks of Chinese Bronze in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1973, pl. 32.