Lot 1516. A bronze tripod ritual wine vessel, jia, Shang dynasty, 13th-12th century BC, 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 70,000 - USD 90,000. Price realised USD 182,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Raised on three slightly curved blade-form supports, the S-curved body cast with a band of elongated taotie masks centered on narrow flanges below a band of upright scroll-filled blades repeated on the sides of the waisted posts that rise from the rim, the tops of the posts with a whorl motif, with a three-character inscription cast in the base of the interior, with malachite encrustation and milky-green patina, zitan stand, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Private collection, Japan, acquired in the late 19th/early 20th century.