LATE SHANG-EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 11TH CENTURY BC

It is very rare to find fangyi with handles. A fangyi of very similar form and decoration, but lacking the handles, in the Saint Louis Art Museum, is illustrated by S. Owyoung in Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, 1997, pp. 84-86, no. 19, where the author notes “the style of thin ribbons derived from earlier bronze design, specifically Loehr Styles II and III, indicate a late Shang or transitional late Shang-early Western Zhou date for the vessel”.