AN ARCHAIC BRONZE WINE VESSEL, GU

SHANG DYNASTY

Details

AN ARCHAIC BRONZE WINE VESSEL, GU
shang dynasty
The tall slender vessel divided into three sections, the flaring rim crisply cast with four upright cicada blades, the central section and spreading foot decorated with a dense leiwen and taotie-pattern band divided by four vertical ribbed flanges, separated by two simple raised lines, the surface covered with a pale green-grey patination and areas of malachite encrustation, pictograms at base, neck restored
11¾ in. (30 cm.) high

Lot Essay

This ritual wine beaker is associated with the 'mature' type of gu from Anyang (late 13th to early 12th century B.C.), which all exhibit the same distinctive structure with the same decorative sequence of motifs. A similar example is included Ritual and Reverence, The University of Chicago, 1989, p.46, no.15; another related group from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, is illustrated by Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes, pp.239-247, nos.32-35.

More from Chinese

View All