Beschreibung:

A RARE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, JUELate Shang Dynasty
Crisply and heavily cast in the traditional form, one end of the top rim rising to a sharp point, the other as a concave grooved pouring spout, the rim set with two upright mushroom-capped finials, the body cast on both sides with a large taotie mask and divided at the compass point with four vertical grooved flanges, one mask partially concealed beneath a monster-mask ring handle above a cast inscription or emblematic character, all standing on three tall out curving legs of triangular sections. 21.5cm (8 1/2in) high.Footnotes商晚期 亦車爵
Provenance: Bluett and Sons Ltd., London, 1960
Eskenazi Ltd., London
An English private collection
Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Chen Mengjia (1911–1966), Yinzhou jinwen jicheng, Beijing, 1984, no.7719 (rubbing of inscription)
Eskenazi Ltd., Ancient Chinese Bronzes from an English Private Collection, London, 1999, p.18, no.5
來源：倫敦古董商 Bluett and Sons Ltd.，1960年
倫敦古董商Eskenazi Ltd.
英國私人收藏
展覽著錄：陳夢家，《殷周金文集成》，北京，1984年，編號7719（銘文拓片）
Eskenazi Ltd.，《Ancient Chinese Bronzes from an English Private Collection》，倫敦，1999年，第18頁，編號5.
The rubbing of the inscription on this vessel was collected by Chen Mengjia (1911–1966), published in The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yinzhou jinnuen jicheng (Compendium of Yin and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions), Beijing, 1984, no.7719.
Notable for its elegant proportions and the crisp definition of the stylised kui dragons, this remarkable tripod vessel testifies to the artistic dexterity and technical advancements achieved in bronze casting during the Shang dynasty.
Bronze vessels, such as the present lot, were among the most highly-prized and technically sophisticated objects manufactured in early China. Reserved for use by the most powerful families of the time, they carried the offerings presented to the ancestors during the performance of rituals.
These vessels were often cast with inscriptions which recorded the land and regional affiliations of the ancestors and their wider family. Honoured and commemorated through the use of these precious vessels, the ancestral spirits were thought to confer blessings on their descendants while at the same time, the use of the vessel displayed to the living the power and wealth of their owners.
The inscription or emblematic character, which appears on several archaic bronzes, has been interpreted as consisting of one or two characters - ni or yi che. Both viewpoints agree however, that it relates to the character for 'chariot' and may also be emblematic of a clan or family group. See, Chen Mengjia, A Corpus of Chinese Bronzes in American Collections, vol.1, Tokyo, 1977, p.32, no.A152. See also J.A.Pope, et al, The Freer Chinese Bronzes, vol.1, Washington, 1967, p.345.
See a similar bronze jue with the same two-character inscription, late Shang dynasty, which was excavated in Anyang, Henan Province in 1939, illustrated by Liang Shangzhuang, Yanku jijin tulu (巖窟吉金圖錄), vol.1, Beijing, 1944, no.30. Compare with a similar bronze wine vessel, jue, Shang dynasty, illustrated by R.J.Poor, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Ceramics and Jade in the Collection of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, 1979, no.30. Another similar archaic bronze vessel jue, Shang dynasty, is illustrated by G.Kuwayama, The Joy of Collecting: Far Eastern Art from the Lidow Collection, Los Angeles, 1979, no.5.
Compare with two related bronze ritual tripod wine vessels jue, Shang dynasty, which were sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 November 2022, lot 101, and Christie's Hong, 27 November 2019, lot 2801.