Page 16 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

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VARIOUS PROPERTIES

1604
A RARE AND FINELY CAST BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL AND COVER, FANGYI
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC
The vessel is of slightly tapering rectangular shape and is well cast in low relief on the two broad sides with
a large taotie mask set below a small taotie mask, and reserved on a fne leiwen ground repeated as the
ground to the pair of confronted bottle-horn kui dragons shown in profle above and the pair of addorsed
kui dragons shown in profle below. Each narrow side is also cast with a large taotie mask set between
bands of small dragons. The center of each side and the corners are cast with narrow notched fanges,
which are repeated on the cover to divide and frame an inverted taotie mask on each side below the taotie-
decorated, faceted fnial. The bronze has a light green patina.
9 in. (22.8 cm.) high
$1,500,000-2,500,000

PROVENANCE
Raymond A. Bidwell (1876-1954) Collection, Springfeld, Massachusetts.
The Springfeld Museums, Springfeld, Massachusetts, accessioned in 1962.
Christie’s New York, 21-22 March 2013, lot 1126.
EXHIBITED
Greenvale, New York, C.W. Post Center, Long Island University, The Arts of China, 4 February - 27 March
1977.
LITERATURE
The Raymond A. Bidwell Collection of Chinese Bronzes and Ceramics, Museum of Fine Arts, Springfeld,
Massachusetts, 1965, pp. 24-25.
R. Spelman, The Arts of China, C.W. Post Center, Greenvale, New York, 1976, p. 19, no. 6.
C. Deydier, Understanding Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Their Importance in Chinese Culture, Their Shapes,
Functions and Motifs, 2015, pp. 34-35 and 109.
商晚期 青銅饕餮紋方彜