CHINE, Dynastie Shang (XIIIe-XIe siècle avant... Lot n° 1

Rare archaic bronze covered ritual vase, you This "you" bronze ritual wine vessel is mounted on a short ring foot, and features a frieze of Taotie masks in bas-relief on the oval-sectioned pear-shaped body, with two bat heads in relief in the center of the frieze. A band of stylized coiled animals covers the lid, which has two pointed ends. The vase has a rounded, pivoting handle, ending on either side with buck head loops in the round, and is attached to either side of the vase. The vase features an archaic six-character inscription on the inside of the lid. Height: 16.5 cm Length : 17 cm Width: 13 cm Traces of oxidation and old excavation patina, old restorations to the lid and part of the body, missing rim. You" (卣) ritual vases were used as containers for storing and transporting fermented beverages, and were employed in ritual ceremonies during the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties. The proportions of our model, with its oval cross-section and pointed-edged lid, are those that became established in the 12th and early 11th centuries B.C., only to be modified again in the Western Zhou period (circa 1046 - 771 B.C.), when the belly of these models became more compact and its oval cross-section more square. Provenance: French private collection, acquired by Madame Jeanne Tual (1902-1980), most probably in the 1950s from art dealer T. Y King in Hong Kong, with whom she had an epistolary relationship, having received several gifts from him. Handed down by descendants. Comparative: For a vase you similar in form, see Christie's sale of March 25, 2022 in New-York, lot no. 718, another dating from the Western Zhou dynasty sold in the same house on November 7, 2017, in London, lot no. 1. 中国 商 青銅卣