Page 242 - Important Chinese Art Sothebys March 2019

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A RARE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL LITERATURE illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua Daquan
WINE VESSEL (LEI) noel Barnard and Cheung Kwong-Yue, [Compendium of Chinese bronzes], taipei,
LATE SHANG / EARLY WESTERN Rubbings and Hand Copies of Bronze 1993, p. 35, no. 123; and a fourth inscribed
ZHOU DYNASTY Inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, European, with six characters, published in Li Xueqin,
American, and Australasian Collections, vol. 8, Zhongguo meishu quanji. Gongyi meishu bian
of baluster form, the wide ovoid body rising taipei, 1978, no. 1216 (inscription). 4 Qingtongqi shang [Complete collection of
from a short, slightly splayed foot to a waisted Liu Yu and Lu Yan, ed., Jinchu Yin Zhou jinwen Chinese arts. Decorative arts no. 4. archaic
neck encircled by two raised fillets, cast around jilu [Compilation of recently discovered archaic bronzes], vol. 1, Beijing, 1985, pl. 80.
the broad shoulder with a raised band enclosing bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2002, pl. 980. For other uninscribed examples, see one
six large ‘whorl’ medallions, interrupted by a Zhong Baisheng, Chen Zhaorong, and attributed to the late shang to early Western
pair of loop handles, each issuing from a bovine huang mingchong, etc., ed., Xinshou Yin Zhou period, in the meiyintang Collection,
mask detailed with protruding eyes, pricked Zhou qingtongqi mingwen ji qiying huibian published in Wang tao, Chinese Bronzes from
ears, and large notched horns, the lower body [Compendium of inscriptions and images of the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, pl. 52;
set with a further loop handle, each handle with recently included bronzes from Yin and Zhou another formerly in the sakamoto Collection,
a two-character inscription to the top reading dynasties], taipei, 2006, no. 1933. illustrated in Sakamoto Collection. Chinese
zi mei, the surface with areas of malachite Wang tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Ancient Ritual Bronzes, nara, 2002, pl. 83; and
encrustation Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from two sold in these rooms, one attributed to the
height 16¼ in., 41.3 cm Sotheby’s and Christie’s Sales, shanghai, 2007, Western Zhou period, first sold 23rd march
pl. 331. 2004, lot 582, then 18th september 2007, lot
PROVENANCE Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen 181, and the second from the J.t. tai Collection,
Collection in osaka, circa 1934 (by repute). ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions sold 22nd march 2011, lot 46.
offered at sotheby’s London, 10th December and images of bronzes from shang and Zhou
1985, lot 19. Dynasties], vol. 25, shanghai, 2012, no. 13759. $ 80,000-120,000
sotheby’s new York, 19th september 2001, In addition to the present lot, a much smaller
lot 3. 商末 / 西周初 子媚罍
lei bearing the same two-character inscription,
reportedly discovered from anyang, henan
province, formerly in the collection of William 銘文：
Charles White, now in the royal ontario 子媚
museum, toronto, is published in Wu Zhenfeng,
Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang 來源
jicheng [Compendium of Inscriptions and 大阪某收藏，約1934年（傳）
Images of Bronzes from shang and Zhou 上拍於倫敦蘇富比1985年12月10日，編號19
Dynasties], vol. 25, shanghai, 2012, no. 13758.
紐約蘇富比2001年9月19日，編號3
Bronze lei of this type cast with inscriptions 出版
are rare. see a related lei, discovered from a
late shang dynasty hoard in Beidong village, 巴納及張光裕，《中日歐美澳紐所見所拓
Liaoning province, published in ‘Liaoning 所摹金文彙編》，卷8，台北，1978年，
Kazuoxian Beidongcun faxian Yindai qingtongqi’ 編號1216（銘文）
[Yin dynasty bronze discovered in Beidong 劉雨及盧岩，《近出殷周金文集錄》，北
village, Kazuo county, Liaoning province], 京，2002年，圖版980
Kaogu, no.4, Beijing, pl. 7, fig 1, together with 鍾柏生，陳昭容及黃銘崇等编，《新收殷
four others, but without inscription, pl. 6, 周青铜器銘文暨器影彙編》，台北，2006
fig. 3 and pl. 7, figs 2, 3, and 4; one inscribed 年，編號1933
with two characters, in the sumitomo
Collection, published in Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan: 汪濤及劉雨，《流散歐美殷周有銘青銅器
Sumitomo Collection [ancient art from the 集錄》，上海，2007年，圖版331
sumitomo collection], Kyoto, 2002, pl. 115; 吳鎮烽，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，
another in the shaanxi provincial museum, 卷25，上海，2012年，編號13759

240 SOTHEBY’S Important ChInese art