Lot 61 商末 青銅獸面紋盂

商末 青銅獸面紋盂

GBP 55,000

55,000 - 85,000 GBP

未知

Good condition. As visible in the lot photographs, the vessel is covered with typical richly coloured incrustation. There are cracks to the body and base as visible in x-ray photographs.

If a condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot, it is for guidance purposes only. Such condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alterations, or adaptations because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather a condition report is a statement of subjective, qualified opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For these reasons, any such condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. Prospective buyers should also refer to the Guide for Buyers at Auction which includes important notices concerning the type of property in this sale.

Diameter 25.5 cm, 9⅞ in.
来源：Ben Janssens Oriental Art，倫敦，2001年3月22日
瑞士私人收藏
展览：Ben Janssens Oriental Art，歐洲藝術博覽會（TEFAF），馬斯垂克，2001年，編號1
图录
说明：Of deep heavily adorned sides and a tall tapered taotie foot, the present vessel is a fine example of the rare yu vessel form and a classical example of late Shang decoration in its austerity and grandeur. From the whorls and taotie masks complementing the flared rim to the bold series of mammiform bosses around the body, the present yu is a triumph of bronze-age workmanship.
Rarely attested in the archaeological record, the yu form appears to have emerged in modern-day Shaanxi province with the present ‘diamond-and-boss’ design variation likely an innovation by the foundries of the royal Shang capital of Anyang. While contemporaneous sources on the yu are rare, their function likely corresponded to the more commonplace gui vessels of the Western Zhou dynasty, which essentially follow yu in proportions and surface decorations but with the addition of two or more handles.
Compare a series of related yu including those preserved in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, in Robert Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, 1987, pl. 98; figs 98.3-5; pls 100 and 101; figs 100.1-3; and figs 101.1-2. Another related yu but with stylised kui dragons in the upper register in place of the present whorls from the Mount Trust Collection, illustrated in The Mount Trust Collection of Chinese Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1970, cat. no. 2 and sold from the Sze Yuan Tang collection of Anthony Hardy at Christie’s New York, 16th September 2010, lot 826; and another from the Morse Collection with a more dense band of whorls, included in Spirit and Ritual; The Morse Collection of Ancient Chinese Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982, cat. no. 5, and sold at Christie’s New York, 19th March 2008, lot 493.