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斝

02 – archaic bronze wine vessel jia
XIA DYNASTY, ERLITOU CULTURE
CIRCA 19 – 17 / 16 CENTURIES B. C.
TH
TH
TH
H.: 24 CM D.: 15.5 CM
Ritual bronze tripod vessel jia used for warming fermented bever-
ages. The vessel’s flat-bottomed body is composed of two parts: an
upper part with a tall recessed neck that gradually opens outwards,
and a lower part cast as a slightly bulging belly.
Two small upright knobs emerge from the rim. A semi-circular loop
handle embellishes one side of the vessel.
The darkly patinated vessel is supported by three hollow triangu-
lar cone-shaped legs that gradually extend outwards and become
thinner as they descend to end in points at their lower extremities.

PROVENANCE

– Galerie Christian Deydier, Paris, France.
– Count & Countess Paul Lippens Collection, Brussels, Belgium, 2017.

SIMILAR EXAMPLES
– Some bronze vessels jia, but with round bottoms, now in the
Shanghai Museum, are illustrated by Chen Peifen: Xia Shang Zhou
qingtongqi yanjiu, Shanghai (no date), vol. 1, p. 10 to 14.
– A similar jia, is published in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji – 1 – Xia
Shang, Beijing 1996, p. 3 no. 3.

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