An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, gu

Shang Dynasty 13th-11th century BC

Shang Dynasty 13th-11th century BC
Of slender form rising to an elegantly flared trumpet neck, cast to the mid-section with a pair of taotie masks detailed with raised eyes and divided by notched flanges, the gently splayed foot decorated with four stylised dragons reserved on a leiwen ground, all beneath two bowstrings, the interior foot with a pictograph reading 'Wei'. 27cm (10 5/8in) high.

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Provenance: a Japanese private collection, prior to the 1980s

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Bronze gu were among the most important vessels used in state rituals of the late Shang dynasty. Similar archaic gu vessels, Shang dynasty, are illustrated by R.W.Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M.Sackler Collections, Cambridge MA, 1987, pp.216-227.

Compare with a related archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, gu, late Shang dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 9 November 2016, lot 106.