An archaic bronze ritual food vessel (Gui), Late Shang dynasty

Lot 38. An archaic bronze ritual food vessel (Gui), Late Shang dynasty. Diameter 10 in., 25.5 cm. Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 USD. Lot sold: 25,200 USD. © Sotheby's 2021

supported on a tall splayed foot, the wide U-shaped body rising to an everted rim, the central body boldly cast with a wide band of studded bosses arranged in lozenge panels composed of elongated leiwen, surmounted by a narrow band of kuilong with bulging eyes against a leiwen ground, evenly divided by three mythical beast masks cast in high relief, the foot encircled by three taotie masks formed from raised bosses and prominent flanges amidst a leiwen ground.

Note: See four closely related examples, one formerly in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, sold in Christie's New York, 1st December 1994, lot 124; one formerly in the Mount Trust Collection, sold in Christie's New York, 15th September 2010, lot 826; one sold in these rooms, 22nd March 2011, lot 14; and the fourth formerly in the Masaki Art Museum, also sold in these rooms, 11th September 2012, lot 95.