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Two Shang Period Jue Ritual Wine VesselsThe prominent spout, whorl capped posts, flared tail and long tripod legs make the jue one of the more striking vessels of the Shang dynasty ritual bronze assembly. These two Jue showcase the highest mastery of ancient bronze casting technology, in a unique amalgamation of aesthetic ornamentation and ritualistic function. Used by Shang Kings in wine ceremonies linking them with the ancestral spirits, the unique silhouette of the jue wholly befits this original ritual use, and consequently became a marker of status when interred as a burial good in the graves of nobility.As one of the oldest vessel forms, jue were used and continually adapted over several centuries, enjoying a relatively long period of popularity. In the earliest forms of Chinese writing, the character for jue in oracle bone inscriptions depict the long legs, spout and upright posts of the two present jue, suggesting a distinct vessel form and function from very early on (as discussed by E. Childs-Johnson in The Jue and its Ceremonial Use in the Ancestor Cult of China, Artibus Asiae, vol. 48, No. 3/4, 1987).Smaller flat-bottomed pottery jue preceded the development of bronze forms, emerging during the Late Neolithic at sites such as Beiyinyangying, Jiangsu. (Zhongguo Kexueyuan Kaogu yanjiusuo, Xin Zhongguo Kaogu de Shouhuo, Beijing, 1962). The earliest primitive bronze jue date from the pre-Shang Erlitou period, with thin short legs, a dainty narrow spout and bulbous ‘waist’ to the body, with these design features continuing into early Shang (see the Panlongcheng Shang Dynasty Erligang period Bronzes in Hubei Provincial Museum, Panlongcheng Shangdai Erligang qingtongqi, Wenwu 1976.2; pp.26-43, picture no. 5). Over time, certain features became more pronounced, with longer legs and taller rim posts, perhaps to better fulfil its role during libation rituals. The exact way in which jue were used, leading to such a distinctive silhouette has been a point of continued scholarly discussion.A corpus of over twenty different types of wine vessel in use during the Shang period attests to the importance of these libation ceremonies conducted by the rulers. Ritual preparation and drinking of wine would link the kings to the spirits of their ancestors, and symbolise both their power and legitimacy to rule with the mandate of Heaven.The traditional ascription of the jue as a libation cup is somewhat problematic, with scholars early on recognising the curious rim posts and long spout would do more to impede drinking that to aid it. The eminent Li Ji, one of the ‘fore-fathers’ of Chinese archaeology, based his research on excavated jue from the Shang ruins at Yinxu, concluding the jue was designed for pouring wine, perhaps from a large storage jar in to a smaller vessel for drinking, and was used in tandem with gu flared vessels, as seen in lot 8, (Li Ji, Studies of the Bronze Jue Cup, Nangang, Taiwan, Archaeologia Sinica, 1966, n.s 2). However, the long legs and peculiar capped posts at the rim hint at a yet more specific use. Current scholarly opinion suggests that the splayed legs of the jue allow for stable positioning over hot coals in order to heat the wine during libation rituals. The two upright posts at the rim may have been used in tandem with the long tail when tipping the hot vessel for pouring wine using “their overhanging caps, which could be caught and pulled up by leather thongs”, (Childs-Johnson, ibid, p.174). These distinct features of sophisticated jue form are reflected in the present lots 18 and 19.These two jue represent typical late-Shang form, with deep U-shaped spouts, long tails and round-bottomed bodies. With the progression of time, the vertical posts became taller, placed further back from the spout along the rim. Whilst similar in form, the ornamentation of lots 18 and 19 are quite distinct, illustrating the frequent variations of decorative motif accompanying the flourish of ritual jue manufacture in late Shang. Lot 18 is cast with two registers of stylised taotie mask designs on the upper body, extending along the underside of the spout. The upper taotie masks have protruding eyebrows between curled horns, whilst the lower masks boast wider set eyes, with pupils in relief. The taotie scrolls are loose and flowing, unlike the tight leiwen cast on the body of the second jue, lot 19, and echo the earlier less refined style of early Shang ornamentation. The border of small circles below the main register, is a common decorative feature on the earliest decorated bronzes, such as a 15th century BC bronze zun in the Sackler Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C . (illustrated in R. Bagley, Anyang Mold Making and the Decorated Model, Artibus Asiae, Vol.69, No.1, 2009, pp.42, 79). Despite these early decorative elements, the three characters cast beneath the handle give clues to the later date of this jue. Of the three characters Shi Fu Gui, literally ‘Scribe Father Gui’ the latter is rendered in its late form with small perpendicular dashes across the ‘X’ shaped graph; a form which according to Bagley appears only after the penultimate Anyang reign period. In contrast, lot 19 exhibits intricately cast decorative motifs epitomising the classic late-Shang jue. A single register of taotie comprises pupils set in high relief, against fine scrolls of thundercloud motif leiwen, framed by low-scored vertical flanges, absent from the earlier style, lot 18. The triangular blades extending from the main register up towards the rim depict stylised cicadas, a popular motif among archaic ritual bronzes, which may have had ritualistic symbolism. A number of comparable jue such as those in the British Museum and Shanghai Museum collections attest to the popularity of this distinct style of decoration (see Shanghai Bowuguan cang Qingtongqi, fuce, Shanghai 1964, p.15, no. 17); as well as other vessel forms also with the same popular decorative motifs of taotie, cicada design, leiwen, see lot 8, (see also a ritual wine vessel jiao on display at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; accession no. EA1956.840).Together, these two jue represent the pinnacle of bronze jue craftsmanship of the Late-Shang, in both the quirky throwback to earlier decorative style (lot 18), as well as an exquisite example of a classic Shang jue (lot 19); both with an intricacy of craftsmanship evincing the importance behind the ritualistic ceremonies linking Shang rulers with the ancestral spirits.

A BRONZE RITUAL TRIPOD WINE VESSEL, JUE

LATE SHANG/ EARLY WESTERN ZHOU (12TH-10TH CENTURY BC)

Details

A BRONZE RITUAL TRIPOD WINE VESSEL, JUE
LATE SHANG/ EARLY WESTERN ZHOU (12TH-10TH CENTURY BC)
The body is intricately cast with two bands of stylised taotie scrolls, with a curved handle to one side and a pair of posts rising from the rim. It is supported on three narrow tapered legs. A three character inscription Shi Fu Gui is cast under the handle. The surface is of a greyish-green tone with areas of malachite encrustation.
7 ¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high

Provenance

The collection of Dr. Kyoshi Hosoi (1897-1975), Honolulu.
With Rare Art, Inc., New York, before June 1982.
From an important private European collection.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

The three-character inscription beneath the handle Shi Fu Gui; may be read as a dedication to Fu Gui , 'Father Gui' preceded by the character Shi, literally ‘Scribe’.

A Shang Dynasty jue of this form with deep body, short legs and with similar ornamentation of two registers of taotie scrolls is illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Bronze in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum Taiwan, 1973, Japan, pl.44; the Zi Fu Xin Jue.
A similar jue decorated with two registers of taotie scrolls but with a longer inscription sold at Christie's New York, 15 September 2011, lot 1102.
See also a jue with very similar decoration on the main register and under the spout, illustrated by J. Rawson in Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C, 1990, vol.IIB, pp.639-639, no. 105.

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