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A RARE PAIR OF ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL ਠ ʮʩۃɤɧ˰ߏ ڡზᛧᕡ७⋧ɓ࿁
WINE VESSELS (GU) Ը๕
SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH CENTURY B.C. P. O’Connor, Esq. ϗᔛ
ࡐ౱ᘽబˢ1977ϋ12˜13˚dᇜ໮235
each of waisted form, the smooth sides rising from a short,
straight foot to a trumpet neck and ! aring rim, the central Ꮦᆗᓈϗᔛ
section protruding only slightly for a subtly bulbous pro" le ॲߒᘽబˢ2011ϋ3˜22˚dᇜ໮2
and cast with two dissolved taotie masks in relief, all between
thread-relief bands above and below, a pair of cruciform
apertures in the lower set of bands, two intaglio pictograms
cast to the interior of the foot, the patina of mottled silvery-
green color with malachite encrustations (2)
Height 10⅞ in., 27.6 cm

PROVENANCE
Collection of P. O’Connor, Esq.
Sotheby’s London, 13th December 1977, lot 235.
Collection of J.T. Tai & Co.
Sotheby’s New York, 22nd March 2011, lot 2.
Bronze vessels known as gu " rst appeared in the Erligang
phase of the Shang dynasty. A simple, stout vessel with
a pro" le curving in an unbroken arc from rim to foot, the
form gradually evolved to taller, more slender shapes with
a pronounced middle section. The present pair of gu are
comparatively large and stout, therefore suggesting an early
Shang dynasty date. Comparable excavated vessels are
discussed and illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual
Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. I, 1987,
Washington, D.C., pp. 216-261, cat. nos 40 - 41, and " gs. 41.1
and 41.2. A related pair of gu, part of a larger set of objects
uncovered near Luoyang, Henan province, now in the Royal
Ontario Museum, Toronto, are illustrated in William White,
Bronze Culture of Ancient China, Toronto, 1956, p. 133.
$ 40,000-60,000

128 SOTHEBY’S