Page 42 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

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A BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL, GUI
EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 11TH CENTURY BC
The body is cast on each side with two pairs of dragons centered on a small animal mask within bow-string
borders interrupted by a pair of handles which are cast at the top with animal heads and at the bottom with
a pendent tab cast with the claws and tail feathers of a bird. A similar band of pairs of dragons confronted
on a stylized mask encircles the foot, and the interior is cast with a four-character inscription, reading
ran zu gui yi. The vessel has a mottled dark grey patina and some ferrous and malachite encrustation.
12 in. (30 cm.) across handles

$60,000-80,000

PROVENANCE
Charlotte Hortsmann (1908-2003), Hong Kong.
Professor Charles Patrick Fitzgerald (1902-1992) Collection, Far Eastern History Department,
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
David Ho Antiques, Sydney, Australia.
Private collection, Sydney, Australia.
LITERATURE
Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, November-December 1989.
The four-character inscription may be translated as ‘(made) ritual vessel for
Ancestor Gui of the Ran clan.’
西周早期 冉祖癸簋

(inscription) (X-ray of vessel showing the inscription)

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