An archaic bronze wine vessel and cover, jia, Mid Shang dynasty
Lot 453. An archaic bronze wine vessel and cover, jia, Mid Shang dynasty; 24.3cm high. Estimate HK$120,000 - 180,000. Sold for HK$ 687,500 (€ 81,949). Courtesy Bonhams
The bulbous vessel standing on three splayed legs, the waisted neck cast with a band of keyfret scrolls within circular motifs, one side with a 'C'-shape-flattened handle in the form of a mythical beast issuing water from its mouth, ending with a thick rim at the top further surmounted by a pair of finials cast with sunken whorl motifs, the cover cast with a centralised 'C'-shaped knop enclosed by a band of stylised taotie masks within a frieze of archaistic scroll.
Note: It is extremely rare to find an archaic bronze jia vessel preserved with its original cover. See a similar excavated example also dated to the mid Shang dynasty, with similar tripod feet but without a cover, unearthed at Henan province in 1974, in the Lingbao Culture Hall, Henan province, illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji 1. Xia Shang 1, Beijing, 1996, p.98, no.99; See other two jia vessels with similar S-curved profile and rounded bottom from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, individually dated to the thirteenth and twelfth century BC, illustrated by Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, New York, 1987, pp.158-164, nos.5-6.
Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 24 November 2013