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PROPERTY OF A LADY See also a larger zun, with the same number of blades on the
AN INSCRIBED ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL neck but without an inscription, sold at Christie’s London,
WINE VESSEL (ZUN) 25th March 1974, lot 85.
LATE SHANG DYNASTY A distinguished Italian diplomat, Francesco Maria, Marchese
Taliani de Marchio (1887-1968), Grand Officer of the Italian
robustly cast of cylindrical form, the waisted vessel with Crown, Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and Lazarus,
flared pedestal foot and wide trumpet mouth, punctuated by and Commander of the Order of Pius IX (Ordine Piano),
four evenly spaced prominent vertical flanges that extend was most notable for his role as Ambassador to China from
past the rim, crisply cast in relief with a pair of large taotie 1938 to 1946 during World War II. During his appointment to
masks and confronting birds around the slightly bulging China, Francesco Taliani actively collected and purchased
mid-section, below a register of coiling snakes followed by works of art from dealers in Shanghai and Beijing.
upright cicada-form blades at the neck and mouth, the tall He was sent to China in 1938 as Ambassador to the
foot with a band of stylized scrolls, all reserved on a fine Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing, and
leiwen ground, inscribed to the interior with a six-character witnessed first-hand the Second Sino-Japanese War. In
inscription reading Ce zuo fu gui zun yi (‘Ce made this this capacity, he was recognized by the Japanese puppet
precious vessel for father Gui’), the patina of mottled green government under Wang Jingwei. On 8th September 1943,
hues refusing to swear allegiance to the Italian Social Republic,
Height 10 in., 25.5 cm he and his wife, the Archduchess Margaretha d’Austria
Toscana (1894 - 1986), were imprisoned by the Japanese in
PROVENANCE a concentration camp near Shanghai, where they remained
Collection of Francesco Mariam, Marchese Taliani de Marchio for two years until the war came to an end. After the war, the
(1887-1968), Ambassador to China (1938-1946), and new government of Alcide De Gasperi reconfirmed his role as
Archduchess Maragaretha d’Austria Toscana, Marchesa Taliani Ambassador to China until 1946, when the couple returned
de Marchio (1894–1986), acquired in China prior to 1946. to Italy and Taliani was subsequently appointed the first
Bonhams London, 9th November 2017, lot 55. Italian Ambassador to Spain in 1951.
This bronze vessel is particularly impressive for its striking
flanges which extend beyond the mouth rim and the ⊖ $ 80,000-120,000
rich decoration crisply cast all over its voluminous body.
Zun were used as ritual wine containers and were made 商末 冊尊
either with angular shoulders or of beaker shape, such 銘文：
as the present piece. Vessels of the present form grew in 冊作父癸尊彝
prominence during the second half of the Shang dynasty (c.
1600-1046 BC), gradually replacing the shouldered type. 來源：
Compare two similar examples in important collections, both 意大利駐華大使塔里安利•得•馬基奧侯爵佛朗西斯
with a slightly more slender body and lacking the central 高•瑪利亞（1887-1968）及塔里安利•得•馬基奧女
cicada blade on each side of the neck. One is preserved in
the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, included in the exhibition 侯爵馬加烈特•奧地利托斯卡納女大公（1894-1986）
Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Collection of the Shanghai 伉儷收藏，1946年之前得於中國
Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. 倫敦邦瀚斯2017年11月9日，編號55
no. 11; the other from the Pillsbury Collection, illustrated in
Bernhard Karlgren, A Catalogue of the Chinese Bronzes in
the Alfred F. Pillsbury Collection, Minneapolis, 1952, pl. 39, is
now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (acc. no. 50.46.101).

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