A PAIR OF ARCHAIC BRONZE WINE VESSELS, GU,, each of tall slender shape, the central section crisply cast in shallow relief on a leiwen ground with toatie motifs divided by two vertical flanges, above a plain double-ribbed band, the splayed base similarly decorated with a band of leiwen below upright cicada blades rising to the rim, the bronze with a pale green patina with areas of malachite encrustations (one vessel in two parts, one with rim restoration), Shang Dynasty

Details

A PAIR OF ARCHAIC BRONZE WINE VESSELS, GU,, each of tall slender shape, the central section crisply cast in shallow relief on a leiwen ground with toatie motifs divided by two vertical flanges, above a plain double-ribbed band, the splayed base similarly decorated with a band of leiwen below upright cicada blades rising to the rim, the bronze with a pale green patina with areas of malachite encrustations (one vessel in two parts, one with rim restoration), Shang Dynasty
23.5cm. high (2)

Lot Essay

It has been suggested that vessels of this kind originally served as communial cups at rituals being able to hold enough to be passed around from one individual to another. They may also have been used as libation cups for honouring ancestors. For an excellent discussion and illustration of a similar gu see Rose Kerr, ed., T.T.Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art Exhibition Chinese Art and Design, Victoria and Albert Museum, Catalogue, p. 172 no. 77

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