Page 20 - Sotheby's Part I Collection of Sir Joeseph Hotung Collection CHINESE ART , Oct. 9, 2022

The fifteen-character inscription reads ‘Yang Zhong Hou made et al., ‘Henan Biyang faxian Chunqiu tongqi [Bronze vessels of the
this precious yi, to be treasured for ten thousand years, and for Spring and Autumn Period discovered in Biyang, Henan]’, Wenwu,
the eternal use of his sons and grandsons’. The meaning and vol. 6, 1982, pp. 169-70. The vessel was unearthed along with its
significance of the first character, Yang, have come to light with companion basin. For a detailed discussion on Yang State and its
recent re-examinations on the character and archaeological findings bronzes, see Xu Shaohua, ‘An Analysis of Bronzes of the Ancient
113 discovered in the second half of the 20th century in the southern Yang State and its History and Geography’, Kaogu xuebao, 2008,
մ ڡ თ AN INSCRIBED ARCHAIC BRONZE POURING VESSEL, YI, part of the Henan province. The character Yang is now believed no. 4, pp. 441-60; where the author also mentioned the discovery of
a Yang Zhong Wu Long yi, a Yang Bo Su yi, and a Yang Bo Yong
to be referring to the Yang State, a long-lost state spanning the
ზ ˖ ZHOU DYNASTY present-day Tongbai and Biyang counties in southern Henan water basin.
ῴ j the boat-shaped vessel raised on four dragon-shaped feet and set with a curved U-shaped spout, the exterior cast with horizontal province, with the city centre situated around the Yuehe Town of Compare also two inscribed yi of similar design in the Shanghai
the Tongbai county. People of the Yang State appear to be the
΀ ῴ concave ribs with a wide band of zoomorphic S-shaped motifs below the rim, set to one side with a loop handle formed by the arched descendants of the Eastern Yi ethnic group; among which, Yang Museum, both attributed to the late Western Zhou dynasty, including
a You Bo Jun yi, which lacks the bifurcated tail to the dragon handle,
Zhong Hou, as mentioned in the inscription on the present piece, is
ڨ ΀ body of a ferocious mythical beast with elaborate horns and a coiled tail, the interior cast with a fifteen-character inscription reading suggested to be of royal descent of the Yang State. The State was illustrated in Chen Peifen, Xia Shang Zhou qingtongqi yanjiu [Study
Yang Zhong Hou zuo baoyi, qi wannian zisun baoyong yongxiang, which can be translated as 'Yang Zhong Hou made this precious yi,
ម ڨ to be treasured for ten thousand years, and for the eternal use of his sons and grandsons' allegedly established before the end of the Western Zhou dynasty of Archaic Bronzes from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties], Shanghai,
vol. 2: Western Zhou, 2004, pl. 425; and a San Bo yi, which features
circa 8th century BC, and was later conquered and annexed by the
Ъ 34.9 cm Chu people in 528 BC as recorded in The Commentary of Zuo. a slight variation of the rim border, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi
quanji [Complete Collection of Chinese Bronze Vessels], vol. 6,
Archaeological findings reinforce this narrative, as of all the Yang
ᘒ PROVENANCE Ը๕j State bronzes unearthed so far, they were found in the tombs Beijing, 1997, pl. 147. For examples sold at auction, see a yi formerly
ម Galaxie Art & Gift Co., Hong Kong, 22nd May 1991. ྗᖵʈᖵۜϞࠢʮ̡d࠰ಥd1991ϋ5˜22˚ attributed to the late Western Zhou dynasty or the Spring and in the collection of Geroge F. de Menasce and Mr and Mrs Bella
and P.P. Chiu, sold in our London rooms, 7th June 2000, lot 12; and
Autumn period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty.
d HK$ 300,000-500,000 Vessels from the Yang State are extremely rare, with less than twenty an inscribed yi from the collection of Dr Wou Kiuan, sold in our New
York rooms, 22nd March 2022, lot 39.
US$ 38,300-64,000
Չ known surviving examples. Compare a closely related example of a
very similar design and bearing an almost identical dedication except
ຬ The function of yi has been documented since the earliest stages of for the sequencing of the last four characters, unearthed in Guogang,
ϋ Chinese history; yi were used together with water basins, pan, in ritual Biyang County, Henan province in 1980, illustrated in Li Fangzhi,
ceremonies for the cleansing of hands. It was stipulated in The Book
ɿ of Rites, Liji, that an elder would pour water from the yi for the ritual
࢑ performers to wash their hands before they proceed with sacred rites,
of which the clan’s junior member would concurrently carry a pan to
ᘒ collect the water. Yi had been a tangible symbol reflecting the ritual
etiquette of royalty and the nobility during the Zhou dynasty. The
͑ present yi is impressive and outstanding not only for its ceremonial
͜ role, its perfect harmony of form and decoration, but most crucially,
the historical significance revealed by the long inscription.
Ԯ

f

Inscription
თ˖

38 I FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUING ༉းྡ፽ʫ࢙ሗᓭᚎ SOTHEBYS.COM/HK1293 THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG I 39