LATE SHANG/EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC

A very similar yen, from a Western Zhou tomb in Liujiacun, Fufeng county, Shaanxi province, is illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji - 5 - Xi Zhou (1), Beijing, 1996, p. 43, no. 46. Also illustrated, p. 42, no. 45, is another similar xian from Yangjiabao, Fufeng county, Shaanxi province, which has a similar taotie band cast in intaglio below the mouth rim, but lacks the cast designs accentuating the features of the bovine masks set atop each leg. Another similar yen from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections was sold in these rooms, 25-26 March 2010, lot 1007.