西周初

Gui with ribbed decoration appeared in the late Shang Dynasty, but the ribbing on these early examples is dense and short, forming only a band around the bowl. It is not until early Western Zhou that deeply ribbed gui, as represented on the present lot, appeared. The stylised bird decoration around the neck and base, in contrast to the earlier, more naturalistic rendition of birds, also indicates its dating. Compare a very similar gui in the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Shang and Zhou Dynasty Bronze Wine Vessels, Taibei, 1989, p.95 and, pl. 28.