Page 35 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

Identified by the character, ying 媵, in the inscription, this Museum, Taipei, and the inscriptions of all three vessels are
gui belongs to a small group of archaic bronze vessels published in The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy
referred as ‘yingqi (dowry vessels) 媵器’, which has significant of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium
historical value in providing insights into the ancient of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2007, nos
matrimonial traditions of the Zhou dynasty. The inscription 3928-3930. In addition, the Chen Hou gui, excavated in Xi’an,
can be translated to ‘X Qing Fu made this dowry gui for the Shaanxi province, now in the Lintong Museum, Xi’an, made
Zhong X Zhan. May she live a long life of ten thousand years. by Marquis Chen for his daughter, who was also a queen of
To be forever treasured’. Zhong X Zhan was the daughter of the Zhou empire, is published in Li Boqian, ed., Zhongguo
X Qing Fu. The first character zhong 仲 in her name indicates chutu qingtongqi quanji / The Complete Collection of Bronzes
her seniority in the family as the second oldest daughter. The Unearthed in China, Shaanxi III, Beijing, 2018, pl. 543; and the
second character could be her xing (family name) 姓 of the Sun Hou pan, discovered from a Western Zhou horde in Xi’an,
clan she came from. now in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an, made by Marquis
Sun for his third daughter, is illustrated in Zhang Tianen, ed.,
In the Zhou dynasty, bronze yingqi were wedding dowries
reserved for the female elite in aristocratic and royal families. Shaanxi jinwen jicheng [Compendium of bronze inscriptions
These vessels would accompany a bride to her new family in Shaanxi], vol. 11, Xi’an, 2016, no. 1212.
to be used as ritual or functional vessels. According to Gao Gui were used during ritual ceremonies for storing cooked
Bing’s study, there are only around 50 extant bronze yingqi rice or millet. While this vessel shape first appeared in the
from the Western Zhou dynasty. In addition to the ones Erligang phase, they were not widely produced and examples
commissioned by the father of the brides, other members of from this period are rare. This form increased in popularity
the family could bestow these vessels as marriage blessings, from the early Western Zhou dynasty, and numerous
including the mother, the husband, and the uncle. For a more variations of the original shape also began to appear. The
detailed discussion, see Gao Bing, ‘Cong jinwen kan xizhou de present vessel, with its shape and design, represents a
yinghun zhidu / The Matrimonial System of Accompanying popular form during the late Western Zhou period.
Concubinage in Western Zhou Dynasty Observed in the Compare a set of bronze gui of a very similar form and design
Inscriptions of Bronze Wares’, Hainan shifan xueyuan xuebao from one of the most important vassal states of the Western
/ Journal of Hainan Normal University, vol. 19, no. 5, Hainan, Zhou dynasty, the Guo state, excavated in the tomb of Guo
2006, pp 121-124. Ji in Sanmenxia, Henan province, illustrated in Institute of
A group of three gui, each of closely related form and design, Archaeology of Henan Province, Archaeological Team of
made by Lu Bo Da Fu for the marriage of his first, second, Sanmenxia, Sanmenxia guoguo mu / The Guo State Tombs
and third daughters, are preserved separately in the Jinan in Sanmenxia, vol. 1 (II), Beijing, 1999, pl. V; an uninscribed
Museum, Jinan, the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and the example, excavated from a Western Zhou tomb in Quwo
Palace Museum, Beijing. The inscriptions of the three gui county, Shanxi province, published in Wang Shimin et al.,
are published by Ma Chengyuan, who attributed the vessels Xizhou qingtongqi fenqi duandai yanjiu / A Study of the
to the late Western Zhou period, Shang Zhou qingtongqi Periodization and Dating of Western Zhou Bronzes, Beijing,
mingwenxuan [Selection of Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze 1999, p. 92, fig. 79 (line drawing); and a famous Song gui with
inscriptions], vol. 1, Beijing, 1988, nos 481-483. slightly more elaborate handles and feet, in the Shandong
Museum, Jinan, illustrated in Peng Qingyun, ed., Zhongguo
Other well-known surviving examples of Western Zhou yingqi
include the set of three E Hou gui 鄂侯簋 of a similar form, wenwu jinghua daquan: Qingtong juan [Encyclopaedia of
made by Marquis E for his daughter Ji who married the Zhou masterpieces of Chinese cultural relics: Bronze volume],
king. Two of the vessels are now kept in the National Palace Taipei, 1994, p. 115, no. 0401.

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