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Lot Essay
The form and decoration of the present jue are characteristic of the early Western Zhou period. Compared with the late Shang, when wine vessels were cast in large numbers, the Western Zhou witnessed a significant decline in the production of bronze wine vessels, including jue. Surviving early Western Zhou examples nonetheless preserve the restrained, relatively plain aesthetic associated with the late Yin ruins tradition. A nearly identical jue, dated to the reign period of King Cheng and his son King Kang (1043-996 BC) of the Western Zhou, was unearthed in 1967 from burial M80 at Zhangjiapo, Chang’an (see Zhongguo Shehui Kexueyuan Fengxi Fajuedui ed., “Excavation of Western Zhou Tombs at Zhangjiapo, Chang’an, 1967,” Kaogu Xuebao 1980, no. 4, fig. 36-5).
Of particular interest is the inscription cast on the upright post and extending onto the upper body of the vessel adjacent to the handle reading Yi zuo fu gui bao zun yi, which may be translated as :'Yi made this precious vessel for Father Gui.' The inscription follows a standard Western Zhou dedicatory formula in which zuo (made) introduces the act of commissioning, the dedicatee is specified as 'Father Gui,' and the vessel is described in honorific terms as a treasured ritual implement.
The graph Yi is particularly noteworthy. It may be read as the personal name of the commissioner, but it could also indicate a lineage or polity designation associated with a group known as Yi. The name Yibo appears in inscriptions on notable bronzes, including the Zuo Ce Qiong you, formerly in the collections of Wu Shifan and Pan Zuyin and later sold at Sotheby’s New York, 17 September 2013, lot 8, and on the Zuo Ce Qiong zun in the collection of the Taipei Palace Museum, both of which are generally associated with the reign of King Zhao (1018–977 BC). The name Yibo can also seen on a gui, excavated in 1981 from burial M1 at Qiangjiacun, Fufeng, Shaanxi. Historical texts offer varying identifications of the Yi state. Some sources state that the Yi state was located in Zhuangwu County, Chengyang, while others suggest the Yi state corresponds to the ruins of Zhuangwu, sixty-one li west of Jimo county, Shandong Province. These alternative suggestions illustrate the complexity of locating the Yi polity within the broader Western Zhou geopolitical landscape.
Of particular interest is the inscription cast on the upright post and extending onto the upper body of the vessel adjacent to the handle reading Yi zuo fu gui bao zun yi, which may be translated as :'Yi made this precious vessel for Father Gui.' The inscription follows a standard Western Zhou dedicatory formula in which zuo (made) introduces the act of commissioning, the dedicatee is specified as 'Father Gui,' and the vessel is described in honorific terms as a treasured ritual implement.
The graph Yi is particularly noteworthy. It may be read as the personal name of the commissioner, but it could also indicate a lineage or polity designation associated with a group known as Yi. The name Yibo appears in inscriptions on notable bronzes, including the Zuo Ce Qiong you, formerly in the collections of Wu Shifan and Pan Zuyin and later sold at Sotheby’s New York, 17 September 2013, lot 8, and on the Zuo Ce Qiong zun in the collection of the Taipei Palace Museum, both of which are generally associated with the reign of King Zhao (1018–977 BC). The name Yibo can also seen on a gui, excavated in 1981 from burial M1 at Qiangjiacun, Fufeng, Shaanxi. Historical texts offer varying identifications of the Yi state. Some sources state that the Yi state was located in Zhuangwu County, Chengyang, while others suggest the Yi state corresponds to the ruins of Zhuangwu, sixty-one li west of Jimo county, Shandong Province. These alternative suggestions illustrate the complexity of locating the Yi polity within the broader Western Zhou geopolitical landscape.