THE PENG ZHOU ZHI
A RARE SMALL BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL
THE PENG ZHOU ZHI
A RARE SMALL BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL
THE PENG ZHOU ZHI
A RARE SMALL BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL
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THE PENG ZHOU ZHI A RARE SMALL BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL

LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Details
THE PENG ZHOU ZHI
A RARE SMALL BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC
The S-profile body is cast in relief on a plain ground on either side with two registers of the disconnected parts of a taotie flanked by pairs of descending kui dragons on each side, separated by a narrow band of two pairs of confronted birds. The tall pedestal foot is cast with two pairs of confronted kui dragons. A single clan sign is cast on the interior base. The bronze has an olive-green and pale green patina.
5 ½ (13.8 cm.) high
Provenance
Yu Xingwu (1896-1984) Collection, prior to 1940.
Nathanael Wessén Collection, Stockholm, prior to 1958.
Christie's London, 10 June 1991, lot 1.
Bluett and Sons, London, 1991.
Literature
Liu Tizhi, Shanzhai jijin lu (The Records of Auspicious Bronzes in the Shanzhai Studio), 1934, vol. 5, p. 49.
Wang Chen, Xu Yinwencun (Continuation of the Surviving Writings from the Yin Dynasty), 1935, vol. 2, p. 49 (inscription only).
Liu Tizhi, Xiaojiaojinge jinwen taben (Rubbings of Archaic Bronze Inscriptions at the Xiaojiaojingge Studio), 1935, vol. 5, p. 68 (inscription only).
Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun (Surviving Writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties), 1937, vol. 14, p. 32 (inscription only).
Yu Xingwu, Shuangjianchi guqiwu tulu (Catalogue of Ancient Objects in the Shuangjianchi Studio), 1940, vol. 1, pp. 75-6.
Bernhard Karlgren, "Bronzes in the Wessén Collection", B.M.F.E.A., vol. 30, Stockholm, 1958, pp. 177-79, no. 6, pls. 10 and 11.
Bernhard Karlgren and Jan Wirgin, Chinese Bronzes: The Natanael Wessén Collection, 1969, no. 12, pls. 16, 17.
Noel Barnard and Cheung Kwong-Yue, Rubbings and Hand Copies of Bronze Inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, European, American, And Australasian Collections, Taipei, 1978, no. 1266 (inscription only).
Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji (Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions), Taipei, 1983, no. 6288 (inscription only).
Minao Hayashi, In Shu seidoki soran (Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes), vol. 1 (plates), Tokyo, 1984, zhi no. 51.
The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yinzhou jinnuen jicheng (Compendium of Yin and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions), Beijing, 1984, no. 06189 (inscription only).
Wang Xiantang, Guoshi jinshi zhigao (A Record of Bronze and Stone Inscriptions in Chinese History), Qingdao, 2004, no. 1027 (inscription only).
Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng (Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties), Shanghai, 2012, no. 10224.

Lot Essay

The clan sign cast inside this vessel depicts a figure carrying a string of cowrie shells while standing in a boat. In traditional literature, this clan sign was translated as 'zi he bei (son bearing cowrie)'. More recently, most scholars translate it as peng zhou (literally 'string of cowrie shells' and 'boat'), however, other scholars translate it as ying zhou (literally 'infant' and 'boat'). The same clan sign can be found on a ding vessel from the Sackler Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2017, lot 1006, and on other bronzes which are listed by R. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D. C., 1987, p. 459.

The previous owner of this zhi, Yu Xingwu (1896-1984), was a pre-eminent epigraphist, scholar of ancient artefacts, and collector. Yu Xingwu, whose hall name is Shuangjianchi Zhuren (master of Shuangjianchi Studio), taught epigraphy and ancient artefacts at Fu Jen Catholic University and later at Peking University during the Republic period. He became a professor at Jilin University in 1955. As a scholar-collector, Yu Xingwu focused on pieces with academic significance and was very cautious in their authentication. For him, collecting was not merely a leisurely activity, but a scholarly pursuit in dating, naming artefacts, and interpreting inscriptions.

An almost identical bronze zhi, with a Shi clan sign, in the Shanghai Museum, is included in the exhibition catalogue by Wang Tao, Mirroring Chinas Past: Emperors, Scholars, and Their Bronzes, Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 2018, p. 64, no. 32.
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