A RARE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL (YOU) LATE SHANG DYNASTY |

the elongated pear-shaped body raised on a tall hollow foot cast with a leiwen band, the neck of oval section, decorated with a pair of taotie masks on leiwen ground, each mask divided by a narrow flange in the center, the tall swing handle decorated with a diamond pattern terminating in serpent heads, cast below the handle on each side with an inscription reading wei ('surround'), the surface with areas of malachite encrustation

Acquired in New York, 6th April 1967.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 

The handle has two restored breaks toward the top (as illustrated) with the upper one again separated; the loops where the handle is affixed are intact and allow the handle to expand and swing. There is an ancient patch to the center of the base, and an oval-shaped patch to the side of the belly. The body has several large gray areas (possibly clay, and as illustrated), and minor expected dents, flaked patina, and small chips. Textile pseudomorphs are visible in some of the oxidized areas. X-ray images available upon request.
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 present you is notable for its fine casting which creates an elegant silhouette. The exquisite workmanship is further revealed by the intricately cast design of the handle ending in snake-like heads, which deliberately draws attention to the elegant curves of the slender vessel. The minimalist surface decoration and graceful form of this piece are typical of the early stage of the bronze development in Anyang during the Shang dynasty (c.1570 - c.1046 BC). Bronze you, which were used as wine containers at ancestral rituals, emerged as one of the major ceremonial receptacles in the late Shang dynasty and remained prominent until the mid-Western Zhou dynasty.   Compare a closely related you with a cover, excavated in 1950 from a tomb in Wuguancun, Anyang, Henan Province, and now in the National Museum of China, illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Daquan [The Quintessence of Chinese Cultural Relics], Qingtong Juan [Bronzes], Hong Kong, 1994, pl. 109. See further examples of this form, such as a slightly larger example, cast with a narrower band of leiwen spirals and a taotie mask around the neck, from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection and now in The Art Museum, Princeton University, New Jersey, illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, pl. 61; one featuring a more elaborately decorated handle, formerly from the collection of Hans-Jürgen von Lowchow, included in the exhibition Frühe Chinesische Bronzen aus der Sammlung Klingenberg, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne, 1993, cat. no. 9; and another in the Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo, published in Ancient Chinese Arts in The Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 64.

The pictogram on this vessel, wei, may be translated as ‘surround’ and is found on three archaic bronze gu, published in Shang zhou qing tong qi ming wen ji tu xiang ji cheng. 17. Jiuqi. Gu jiao jue. Shanghai, 2012, pls 08986, 08987 and 08989, the first from the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin, the second sold in our London rooms, 13th December 1977, lot 210, and the third in the Palace Museum, Beijing, respectively.