LATE SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Details

A SUPERBLY CAST BRONZE RITUAL TRIPOD FOOD VESSEL, LIDING
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG, 12TH-11TH CENTURY BC
The lobed body is raised on three undecorated legs and is cast in relief with three large taotie masks divided by flanges reserved on a leiwen ground, all beneath a cicada border. The interior is cast with a two-character inscription, Fu Ding, and there are areas of malachite encurstation.
7 3⁄4 in. (19.7 cm.) high, hardwood stand, Japanese double wood box

Provenance

Sadajiro Kawai, Kyoto, before 1961.
Important private Japanese collection, prior to 1994, and thence by descent within the family.

Literature

Umehara Sueji, Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Japan, vol. 3, Osaka, 1961, no. 182.
Ancient Chinese Art - The Origin of Japanese Art, Kagawa, 1968, Cover and A2.

Exhibited

Kagawa Prefecture, Kagawa Prefectural Cultural Hall, Ancient Chinese Art - The Origin of Japanese Art, 1968.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. Please note that this lot is subject to an import tariff. The amount of the import tariff due is a percentage of the final hammer price plus buyer's premium. The buyer should contact Post Sale Services prior to the sale to determine the estimated amount of the import tariff. If the buyer instructs Christie's to arrange shipping of the lot to a foreign address the buyer will not be required to pay the import tariff, but the shipment may be delayed while awaiting approval to export from the local government. If the buyer instructs Christie's to arrange shipping of the lot to a domestic address, if the buyer collects the property in person, or if the buyer arranges their own shipping (whether domestically or internationally), the buyer will be required to pay the import tariff. For the purpose of calculating sales tax, if applicable, the import tariff will be added to the final hammer price plus buyer's premium and sales tax will be collected as per The Buyer's Premium and Taxes section of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The inscription cast on the interior of the vessel, Fu Ding, can be translated as 'Father Ding.' This is an abbreviated dedicatory inscription that means 'dedicate this vessel to Father Ding.'

Liding vessels decorated with a single frieze of large taotie first appeared at the beginning of the late Shang dynasty, circa late 13th century BC, and continued to be popular throughout the late Shang period. The robust shape and vigorous high-relief decoration of this liding represent the artistic apogee of bronze casting in the late Shang dynasty and are very similar to that of liding found in the late Shang capital Yinxu at modern day Anyang city, Henan province, such as the three illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji (Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), vol. 2: Shang 2, Beijing, 1997, nos. 11, 16, and 19. See, also, similar lobed liding decorated with taotie masks beneath a frieze of cicadas is illustrated by R.W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Washington, DC,1987, pp. 484-85, no. 92.

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