A GRAY POTTERY TRIPOD VESSEL, LI, LOWER XIAJIADIAN CULTURE China, circa 1500 BC. The beaker shaped vessel with a wide everted rim above a long tapered cylindrical body, raised upon three hollow conical legs, the clay of a dark buff hue.

Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 14 June 2022, based on sample number C122f98, sets the firing date of two samples taken at 3500 - 5200 years ago. A copy of the report, issued by Oxford Authentication, accompanies this lot.

Provenance: From a private collection in Bavaria, Germany, built since the 1970s and into one of the largest collections of Buddhist bronzes and sculptures in Central Europe. The collector was a noted magician and as such guided by the fundamental idea that one thing can also be another, always looking for a second nature or hidden meaning behind the primary appearance of an artwork.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, minor losses, flaking, and encrustations, all as expected from Han dynasty excavations. Small holes from sample-taking.

Weight: 1,317 g
Dimensions: Height 26 cm

The Lower Xiajiadian Culture, contemporary with Shang and Zhou, was centered in northeast China. The culture was named for a lower layer of excavation at the site of Xiajiadian, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. The beaker shape was found at numerous burials, possibly used as a ritual wine vessel.

Literature comparison:
Compare a similar vessel illustrated in Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Neolithic Period to the Western Han, Uragami Sokyu-Do, Japan, 1991, p. 20.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Near identical
Auction: Christie's New York, 5 September 2002, lot 548
Price: USD 4,780 or approx. EUR 7,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Chinese neolithic black pottery tripod vessel, li, Xiajiadian culture, circa 1500 BC

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's New York, 21 March 2000, lot 234
Price: USD 70,700 or approx. EUR 121,800 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare late neolithic painted black pottery tripod vessel li, circa 1500 BC


夏家店下層文化灰陶三足鬲
中國，公元前約1500年。敞口，弧腹內收，腔部呈盂形，有實足根。深色陶.

科學檢測報告：隨附牛津熱釋光檢測報告副本，根據樣本C122f98，2022年6月14日測試結果，該拍品應爲3500年至5200年前所製。

來源：德國巴伐利亞的私人收藏，該收藏創建於1970年代，是歐洲最大的佛教青銅器和造像收藏之一。 這位收藏家是一位著名的魔術師，因此遵循“一物也可以是另一物”這一基本理念，總是在藝術品的主觀背後尋找第二本性或隱藏的意義。
品相：狀況極佳，與年齡相稱。大面積磨損、風化和侵蝕痕跡、輕微損失、結殼，與漢代考古發掘的預期一致。取樣的小孔。

重量：1,317克
尺寸：高26厘米

夏家店下層文化陶鬲主要分佈在內蒙古東南部、遼寧西部、河北北部和京津唐地區，屬於中國北方早期青銅文明。夏家店下層文化陶鬲以其悠久的歷史和獨特的造型，深受收藏市場推崇。

文獻比較：
比較一件相似的鬲，見浦上蒼穹堂，《紀元前中國陶瓷》，日本東京，1991年，頁20。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：幾乎相同
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2002年9月5日，lot 548
價格：USD 4,780（相當於今日EUR 7,500）
描述：大約公元前1500年夏家店文化黑陶三足鬲

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2000年3月21日，lot 234
價格：USD 70,700（相當於今日EUR 121,800）
描述：大約公元前1500年新石器時代晚期彩繪黑陶三足鬲