Page 214 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF DR. GEORGE S. HEYER, JR. (1930-2015)
920
A BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, GU
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 12TH CENTURY BC
Of slender form, the gu is cast in relief on the trumpet-shaped neck with four blades incorporating the
detached elements of animal masks above a band of four cusped quatrefoils with raised centers, and
on both the center section and fared foot with two masks divided and separated by notched fanges,
those on the foot below a narrow band of four dragons, all reserved on leiwen grounds. A two-character
inscription is cast inside the foot.
12º in. (31 cm.) high
$80,000-120,000

PROVENANCE
Bluett & Sons, London, 1955.
Private collection, London.
Eskenazi Ltd., London, November 1999.
George S. Heyer, Jr. (1930-2015) Collection.
EXHIBITED
London, Eskenazi Ltd., Ancient Chinese bronzes from an English private collection, November 1999.
LITERATURE
Eskenazi Ltd., Ancient Chinese bronzes from an English private collection, London, 1999, no. 1.
The inscription cast inside the foot consists of a shield-shaped clan sign followed by the character Ji.
The same clan sign can be found in a fangyi exhibited and illustrated by J.J. Lally & Co., Chinese Archaic
Bronzes: The Collection of Daniel Shapiro, New York, 2014, pp. 38-41, no. 10.
商晚期 青銅饕餮紋觚

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