A RARE BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, GU, SHANG DYNASTY China, 14th-13th century BC. The vessel has a plain trumpet-shaped neck and spreading foot, and the bulbous mid-section is cast with two taotie masks with boss-like eyes divided and separated by slender notched flanges and set between raised bow-string borders, the lower of which is interrupted by a cruciform aperture.

Provenance: Roger Keverne, London, 16 October 2009. A British private collection, acquired from the above and thence by descent. Note that Roger Keverne’s pricelist for this exhibition states a purchase price of GBP 18,000 (approx. GBP 26,350 today after inflation) for the present lot.
Published: Roger Keverne, Fine and Rare Chinese Works of Art and Ceramics Winter Exhibition, London, 2009, no. 1.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Minuscule nicks to edges and small dents. Few minor signs of erosion. Old wear. Superb, naturally grown patina with various tones of malachite as well as some cuprite and azurite encrustation.

Weight: 516.2 g
Dimensions: Height 19 cm

Expert’s note: The present vessel belongs to the latter stage of the Erligang phase. Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, volume 1, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1987, illustrates a series of bronze gu that span this transitional period, pages 218-219, figures 25.1-6. In these illustrations one can see the gradual change in the shape from the broader silhouette of the earlier examples, figures 25.1 and 25.2, to the taller and more slender silhouette of the later examples, figures 25.5 and 25.6, and notes that the thickened waist is seen only occasionally during this period. Furthermore, all of these vessels, along with the present vessel, share similar cruciform apertures left by the casting process.

Literature comparison: For related examples, see Jan Fontein and Tang Wu, Unearthing China's Past, no. 7, p. 37-38, and note particularly fig. 5, excavated at Minggonglu, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, which has a very similar decorative band and a cruciform aperture, and see Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, The Panlongcheng Site Report of Archaeological Excavation from 1963-1994, vol. 2, color pl. 30, fig. 1 (PYWM 4:6), pl. 36, fig. 1 (PWZM 1:4), and pl. 87, Fig. 2 (PYWM 11:5).

商代青銅觚
中國，公元前十四至十三世紀。此器敞口呈喇叭形，長頸，腰腹收窄，斜坡狀圈足；器身紋飾分為三段，口部到頸部素面無紋，至中部兩道凸弦紋，中部饕餮紋，兩條扉棱對稱分佈，腹部與圈足之間飾兩道凸弦紋，底足部素面。整器線條優美流暢，銅質富光澤，金屬厚重。

來源：倫敦Roger Keverne 2009年10月16日；英國私人收藏，購於上述藝廊並保存至今。請注意Roger Keverne當時的展覽價格單上價格為GBP 18,000 (相當於現在的 GBP 26,350)。
出版: Roger Keverne, Fine and Rare Chinese Works of Art and Ceramics Winter Exhibition, 倫敦2009年, 圖 1.
品相：狀況極佳，與年齡相稱。 邊緣有微小的刻痕和小凹痕。少量輕微的侵蝕跡象，以及舊時磨損。 自然生長的包漿，帶有各種色調的美麗鏽斑。

重量：516.2克
尺寸：高19 厘米

專家注釋: 此拍品來自於二里崗後期。見Robert W. Bagley 在 Arthur M. Sackler 收藏中的青銅禮器，第 1 卷，Arthur M. Sackler 基金會，華盛頓特區，1987 年，展示了跨越這一過渡時期的一系列青銅器，第 218-219 頁，圖 25.1-6。在這些插圖中，我們可以看到從早期例子（圖 25.1 和 25.2）的較寬輪廓到後面的例子（圖 25.5 和 25.6）的更高和更細長的輪廓的形狀在逐漸變化，腰部加粗，也可以在此期間偶爾看到。此外，所有這些青銅器，連同本器，在鑄造過程都留下的類似的十字形孔。

文獻比較: 一件相近青銅器，見Jan Fontein and Tang Wu, Unearthing China's Past, no. 7, p. 37-38, 請注意特別是圖 5、出土於河南鄭州明公路，裝飾帶與十字形孔極為相似；另見 湖北省文物考古研究所The Panlongcheng Site Report of Archaeological Excavation from 1963-1994, 第 2冊，彩圖 30, 圖 1 (PYWM 4:6), 圖 36, 圖1 (PWZM 1:4), 以及圖 87, 圖2 (PYWM 11:5)。