Page 264 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 Hong Kong

449 Research gathered from twentieth century excavations reveals a number
A rare archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, jue of archaic bronze tripod vessels similar to the current lot, dated from
Early Shang dynasty, Erligang culture the sixteenth to fourteenth century BC and attributed to the Erligang
Raised on three tall pointed triangular feet, the compressed elliptical culture. A typical shape created during this period, it is characterised
waisted body finely cast with a band of star-crossed motifs beneath by the elongated design and thinness of the bronze material, despite
a frieze of studs, one side surmounted by a flattened handle, all lacking a more formalised general decorative motif on the exterior. The
extending upwards towards a flared narrow spout and tip, the flared appearance of criss-cross and stud motifs represents a short period of
rim surmounted by a pair of short whorl finials. development which explains its rarity.
16.5cm high.
HK$80,000 - 120,000 See a similar example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated
US$10,000 - 15,000 in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the National Palace Museum Collection,
Taipei, 1998, pp.116-119, no.1. See also another similar excavated
商早期 二里岡文化 乳丁及網格紋爵 example also dated to the early Shang dynasty, unearthed at Zheng
county, Henan province in 1951, in the Henan Provincial Museum,
Henan province, illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji 1. Xia Shang
1, Beijing, 1996, p.61, no.62.

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