A BRONZE RITUAL TRIPOD WINE VESSEL, JUE

LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE RITUAL TRIPOD WINE VESSEL, JUE
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC
Well cast with a band of two taotie masks, with intaglio decoration on the detached elements, all reserved on a leiwen ground and separated by notched flanges, one mask centered on a further flange and the other centered on a three-character inscription cast beneath the handle which issues from a bovine mask, with an upper band of blades enclosing cicadas rising towards the rim below a pair of posts surmounted by domed caps cast with whorl motifs surrounding a button center, with mottled grey and milky-green patina and some malachite-green and azurite encrustation
8 in. (20.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Eskenazi Ltd., London, 14 June 1984.

Literature

Chen Wangheng, Chinese Bronzes: Ferocious Beauty, 2001, pl. iv, no. 22a and back cover.

Exhibited

Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1990, no. 5.
The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, Singapore, 2000, no. 11.
Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2002-2006, p. 108.

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Lot Essay

The intaglio inscription consists of three graphs, "zi", a triangle, and a foot with five toes, which may be interpreted as "Zizheng", a Shang clan name.

Jue appear to have been essential to Shang dynasty rituals, as they are one of the most numerous vessels found in Shang tombs. Their shape implies that they were used for the heating and pouring of ritual wines, and possibly for drinking the wine. The present jue is stylistically similar to one illustrated in Zhongquo Qingtongqi Quanji - 3 - Shang (3), Beijing, 1997, p. 20, no. 20. Unlike the published example, the present jue has the rare inclusion of cicadas in the upright blades.

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