Page 44 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

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AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL and design, but cast with the more commonly found design
(DING) of taotie with horizontally arranged horns, such as one
LATE SHANG DYNASTY illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in
the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D.C., 1987,
the interior with a later inscription reading tianzi zuoyong pl. 87, in which the author mentions a comparable vessel
baofuding X that was unearthed from a Yinxu burial, attributed by the
Height 9⅛ in., 23.2 cm excavators to the last quarter of the Anyang period (c.
1300-1046 BC). Compare also another ding preserved in the
PROVENANCE Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Ma Chengyuan
Acquired in Hong Kong, 1994. ed., Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan: qingtong juan / The
Quintessence of Chinese Cultural Relics: Bronzes, Hong Kong,
Boldly decorated with a single frieze of large taotie masks, 1994, p. 8, no. 26.
which covers the entire surface of its swelling body,
this imposing ding is a classic example of the form and $ 60,000-80,000
decoration that was popular during the late Shang period
(c. 1600-1046 BC). The present bronze is distinctive for the
inward orientation of the oversized horns, rising prominently 商末 青銅饕餮紋鼎
above a ground of incised spirals. See two ding decorated
with closely related taotie masks: the taller one with a five- 後加銘文：
character inscription, preserved in the Palace Museum, 天子作用寶福鼎 □
Beijing; and the other sold at Christie’s New York, 24th March
2011, lot 1234. 來源
購於香港，1994年
Ding were food containers and cooking utensils used for
sacrificial ceremonies. Compare vessels of similar form

84 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10917 ARCHAIC BRONZES FROM THE MACLEAN COLLECTION 85