Lot 147. An Archaic bronze drinking vessel, gu, Shang Dynasty  (c.1600-1046 BCE). 9 in., 22.9 cm. Estimate 7,000 — 9,000 USD. Lot sold 7,800 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the waisted cylindrical vessel with a wide trumpet mouth, crisply cast around the middle with a pair of taotiemasks consisting of raised bosses for eyes and centered with a low flange on a leiwen ground, the middle section set off by raised filets and four cruciform holes, all above further leiwen and quill ground with disintegrated masks around the flared foot, the surface of smooth gunmetal patina.

Note: This bronze and the preceeding one have very similar decoration.  The pattern on the foot is not axially symmetrical and could be interpreted as a downward-facing dragon moving to the right, its open jaw resting on the bottom of the frieze, its eye set above the lower jaw and tail curling at the top of the quadrant.  Similar gu in the Sackler Collection is illustrated in Robert Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, vol. 1, 1987, nos. 25-27.