Lot Essay
The revival in archaic bronze shapes and decoration reproduced in different materials reached its apogee during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. Our current example is a great imitation of the stout oval-bodied you, an important wine vessel for religious rituals in the late Shang Dynasty. A you with extremely similar patterns excavated in Hunan Ningxiang is illustrated in Robert W.Bageley's Shang Ritual Bronzes: v.1: Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Arthur M.Sackler Collections, Harvard University Press, 1987, p. 375, fig.64.2.
See also a similar example of archaistic you sold by Sotheby's London, 11 May 2011, lot 253.
See also a similar example of archaistic you sold by Sotheby's London, 11 May 2011, lot 253.