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Lot Essay
The inscription cast on the interior of this jue consists of the characters fu xin (Father Xin) positioned below a large clan sign reading peng. The clan sign has been interpreted by scholars as a man carrying a string of cowry shells. A jue cast with very similar decoration and of approximately the same size, and bearing the same inscription as the present jue, was sold at Christie’s New York, 21-22 March 2013, lot 1219.
The proportions of the present jue are very similar to other jue of early Western Zhou date including the famous pair in the Palace Museum, Beijing, cast with designs of crested birds. One of the pair is illustrated in Two Hundred Selected Masterpieces from the Palace Museum, Beijing, Tokyo National Museum, 2 January - 19 February 2012, no. 49, and again in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 27 - Bronze Ritual Vessels and Musical Instruments, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 150, no. 97. The other jue from this pair is illustrated in Chuka Jinmin Kyowakoku Kodai Seidokiten (Exhibition of Archaic Bronzes from the People's Republic of China), Tokyo and Kyoto, 1976, pl. 39. A third early Western Zhou jue of this type cast around the sides with crested birds was sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2012, lot 1222. Another characteristic these early Western Zhou jue share is the more slender, rounded handle compared to the broader handle of jue from the mid to late Shang period.
Taotie similar to those cast on either side of the present jue, which feature distinctive large horns that curve downwards to flank the mask, can be found on other vessel forms of early Western Zhou date, including a fangding in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu jinghua dachuan (Highlights of Chinese Archaeological Objects), Hong Kong, 1994, p. 82, no. 292, and another fangding illustrated by d'Argencé, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection, Berkeley, California, 1966, pl. XXIX.
The clan sign (peng) found on the present jue can also found on an early Western Zhou you sold at Christie's New York, 21 September 2000, lot 158. Variations of the peng clan sign can be found on a ding vessel sold at Christie’s New York, Power and Prestige, 22 March 2019, lot 1503, and a ding from the Sackler Collection illustrated by R. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D. C., 1987, pp. 458-59, no. 83, and subsequently sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2017, lot 1006. Further variations of the peng clan sign can be found on bronze vessels excavated from the Hengshui Peng State tomb in Jiang County, Shanxi Province in 2004. See Shanxi Jiangxian Hengshui Xizhoumu fajue jianbao (Brief Excavation Report on the Western Zhou Tomb in Jiang County, Shanxi), Wenwu, 2006, vol. 8, pp. 4-18. Despite the variations, scholars generally believe these various peng characters represent a clan that can be traced back to late Shang dynasty, and the style of the peng character on the current jue is associated with the later Peng State. See Ma Baochun, Shanxi Jiangxian Hengshui Xizhou Pengguo damu de xiangguan lishi dili wenti (Historical and Geographical Researches of the Peng State Tomb in Hengshui, Jiang County, Shanxi), Kaogu Yu Wenwu, 2007, vol. 6, pp. 37-43.
The proportions of the present jue are very similar to other jue of early Western Zhou date including the famous pair in the Palace Museum, Beijing, cast with designs of crested birds. One of the pair is illustrated in Two Hundred Selected Masterpieces from the Palace Museum, Beijing, Tokyo National Museum, 2 January - 19 February 2012, no. 49, and again in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 27 - Bronze Ritual Vessels and Musical Instruments, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 150, no. 97. The other jue from this pair is illustrated in Chuka Jinmin Kyowakoku Kodai Seidokiten (Exhibition of Archaic Bronzes from the People's Republic of China), Tokyo and Kyoto, 1976, pl. 39. A third early Western Zhou jue of this type cast around the sides with crested birds was sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2012, lot 1222. Another characteristic these early Western Zhou jue share is the more slender, rounded handle compared to the broader handle of jue from the mid to late Shang period.
Taotie similar to those cast on either side of the present jue, which feature distinctive large horns that curve downwards to flank the mask, can be found on other vessel forms of early Western Zhou date, including a fangding in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu jinghua dachuan (Highlights of Chinese Archaeological Objects), Hong Kong, 1994, p. 82, no. 292, and another fangding illustrated by d'Argencé, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection, Berkeley, California, 1966, pl. XXIX.
The clan sign (peng) found on the present jue can also found on an early Western Zhou you sold at Christie's New York, 21 September 2000, lot 158. Variations of the peng clan sign can be found on a ding vessel sold at Christie’s New York, Power and Prestige, 22 March 2019, lot 1503, and a ding from the Sackler Collection illustrated by R. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D. C., 1987, pp. 458-59, no. 83, and subsequently sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2017, lot 1006. Further variations of the peng clan sign can be found on bronze vessels excavated from the Hengshui Peng State tomb in Jiang County, Shanxi Province in 2004. See Shanxi Jiangxian Hengshui Xizhoumu fajue jianbao (Brief Excavation Report on the Western Zhou Tomb in Jiang County, Shanxi), Wenwu, 2006, vol. 8, pp. 4-18. Despite the variations, scholars generally believe these various peng characters represent a clan that can be traced back to late Shang dynasty, and the style of the peng character on the current jue is associated with the later Peng State. See Ma Baochun, Shanxi Jiangxian Hengshui Xizhou Pengguo damu de xiangguan lishi dili wenti (Historical and Geographical Researches of the Peng State Tomb in Hengshui, Jiang County, Shanxi), Kaogu Yu Wenwu, 2007, vol. 6, pp. 37-43.