Page 113 - Christie's Important Chinese Art, March 23 to 24 2023 New York

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED NEW YORK COLLECTION
1114
A VERY RARE MALACHITE-INLAID BRONZE RITUAL WINE The fanglei or "square lei" is one of the rarest vessel types among the Eastern
VESSEL, FANGLEI Zhou ritual paraphernalia. A Warring States fanglei of very similar form, but
WARRING STATES PERIOD, 4TH CENTURY BC decorated with rectangular panels enclosing dense dragon pattern, was
found in Sanmenxia City, Henan province, and is illustrated in Zhongguo
8w in. (22.6 cm.) high wenwu jinghua daquan: Qingtong juan (Compendium of Treasures of Chinese
Cultural Relics: Archaic Bronzes), Hong Kong, 1994, p. 247, no. 886. A
$200,000-300,000 Warring States inlaid fanglei with masks suspending ring handles in the
Miho Museum is illustrated in Catalogue of the Miho Museum (The South
PROVENANCE: Wing), 1997, pp. 184-5, no. 87. Compare, also, a pair of fanglei of similar form
Parke-Bernet, New York, 4-5 November 1965, lot 288. found in the early Warring States tomb of Zenghou Yi (Marquis Yi of the
J. T. Tai & Co., 25 January 1966. Zeng State) together with fitted bronze jian basins, illustrated in Zhongguo
Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987) Collections. qingtongqi quanji (The Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), Beijing,
Else Sackler (1913-2000), and thence by descent. 1998, vol. 10, pp. 130-33. The same pair is illustrated again by F. J. Zhang
and J. Xu in Phoenix Kingdoms: The Last Splendor of China’s Bronze Age, San
LITERATURE:
R. Poor, Bronze Ritual Vessels of Ancient China (slide lecture), New York City, Francisco, 2022, pp. 120-21, no. 51, where another bronze square vessel and
1968. cover, one of a pair from the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng, is illustrated,
P. Singer, Masterpieces from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection (unpublished), p. 123, fig. 1, which has a diagonal grid pattern that would have been inlaid
no. 256. turquoise and silver. This pair of square vessels, of larger size (47.5 cm.
high) than the current vessel, bear inscriptions on their handles and covers

紐☼顯㈥珍藏 indicating they were intended as water containers used for bathing by
Marquis Bing of Zeng, presumably a successor of Marquis Yi.
戰४ǎՌ元עोˠ紀ǎ青銅ณ孔雀⊅幾ΰ紋方➩
Ϝ源 The geometric design filled with malachite inlay found on the current
vessel is a fine example of an iconic Warring States period ornamentation
紐☼1BSLF #FSOFU
年 月 日
拍品編號
戴潤齋
年 月 日 style. Two fanghu vessels with a similar design of a diagonal grid framing
̯瑟g姆g㈃Գ勒
珍藏 lozenge-shaped panels that would have originally contained inlay, one in
艾莎g㈃Գ勒
珍藏
後於家族流ҷ the Los Angeles County Museum and the other in the Asian Art Museum of
San Francisco, are illustrated by Jenny So, in Eastern Zhou Bronzes from the
֨ḛ Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. III, New York, 1995, pp. 62-63, figs. 110 and
3 1PPS
Ǘ#SPO[F 3JUVBM 7FTTFMT PG "ODJFOU $IJOBǘ ワ座

紐☼市
年 112, respectively.
1 4JOHFS
Ǘ.BTUFSQJFDFT GSPN UIF "SUIVS . 4BDLMFS $PMMFDUJPOǘ 未֨ḛ
編號

(detail)