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Lot Essay
The two graphs cast under the handle read, Shi Fu (Father Shi).
Most jue feature a single register of taotie cast around the body, and it is rare to find examples cast with two registers of taotie masks, as seen on the present example. Other jue with similar arrangement of decoration include one illustrated in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 1998, pp. 144-45, no. 7; one illustrated by S.D. Owyoung in Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, 1997, no. 22; one illustrated by E. von Erdberg in Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Chester Dale and Dolly Carter, Switzerland, 1978, pp. 14-15, no. 9; and two examples sold at Christie's New York: 24-25 March 2011, lot 1291, and 15-16 September 2011, lot 1102. On all these jue, the eyes of the taotie masks in both registers are raised, while the eyes of the taotie masks in the lower register on the present jue are in low relief. A similar combination of relief-cast eyes in the upper register and low-relief eyes in the lower register can be seen on a jiao illustrated by J.A. Pope et al., The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Washington, 1967, pl. 26, no. 26 (53.83).
Most jue feature a single register of taotie cast around the body, and it is rare to find examples cast with two registers of taotie masks, as seen on the present example. Other jue with similar arrangement of decoration include one illustrated in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 1998, pp. 144-45, no. 7; one illustrated by S.D. Owyoung in Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, 1997, no. 22; one illustrated by E. von Erdberg in Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Chester Dale and Dolly Carter, Switzerland, 1978, pp. 14-15, no. 9; and two examples sold at Christie's New York: 24-25 March 2011, lot 1291, and 15-16 September 2011, lot 1102. On all these jue, the eyes of the taotie masks in both registers are raised, while the eyes of the taotie masks in the lower register on the present jue are in low relief. A similar combination of relief-cast eyes in the upper register and low-relief eyes in the lower register can be seen on a jiao illustrated by J.A. Pope et al., The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Washington, 1967, pl. 26, no. 26 (53.83).