Lot 195. A bronze ritual food vessel (Gui), Late Shang - early Western Zhou dynasty. Diameter 8 ⅞ in., 22.5 cm. Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 USD. Lot sold: 50,400 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the deep rounded body with an everted rim all raised on a tall splayed foot, the band below the rim cast with kuilong in profile against a leiwen ground and punctuated by three taotie masks in high relief, the body with a repeating leiwen diamond pattern with each unit centered by a protruding boss, the foot encircled by a further band of low-relief archaistic 'dragon' patterns, the interior cast with three characters tian min fu gui, the bronze with a green patina and a few patches of malachite and russet-toned oxidation to the interior and exterior surfaces, the pierced wood cover surmounted by a grayish jade finial (2).