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Lot Essay
Compare the similar jue illustrated by R.W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Washington DC, 1987, p. 195, no. 18. The style of casting of the main elements including the cicada blade on the underside of the pouring lip is very similar, as is the shape. It is noted that the shape and decoration indicate a dating later than jue vessels that were excavated from the tomb of Fu Hao, that is, after about 1200 BC, ibid, p. 195. The Sackler jue is inscribed beneath the handle with a four-point star followed by a second bracket-form element which probably forms the maker's name. In this instance, the pictograph on the present jue indicates the maker's name as Shi.
Also compare two similar late Shang dynasty examples, the first from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, which was sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 2010, lot 817, is cast with a three-character inscription, Zi, a triangle, and a foot with five toes, which may form the clan name Zizheng. The second, in the Shanghai Museum, is cast with an inscription identifying the maker as Yaqi, and is illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Dacidian, Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 1995, p. 50, no. 174.
Also compare two similar late Shang dynasty examples, the first from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, which was sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 2010, lot 817, is cast with a three-character inscription, Zi, a triangle, and a foot with five toes, which may form the clan name Zizheng. The second, in the Shanghai Museum, is cast with an inscription identifying the maker as Yaqi, and is illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Dacidian, Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 1995, p. 50, no. 174.