Lot 103. An inscribed archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (Zhi), Early Western Zhou dynasty. Height 10¼ in., 26 cm. Estimate: 50,000 - 70,000 USD. Lot sold: 44,100 USD. © Sothebys.

Literature: Rose Kerr et al., Chinese Antiquities from the Wou Kiuan Collection. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, Hong Kong, 2011, pl. 14.

Note: Cast with a bold design of a pair of taotie masks around the bulging mid-section, the present zun vessel belongs to a group of vessels produced during the early Western Zhou period that are descended from Anyang-period motifs. In its proportions and casting it resembles three inscribed early Western Zhou bronzes illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, figs 79:1-3; the first, from the tomb of Hei Bo, Gansu province; the second in the Burrell Collection Glasgow; and the third in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Compare also a zun in the Sackler Collection illustrated in ibid., pl. 80.

Sotheby's. A Journey Through China's History. The Dr Wou Kiuan Collection Part 1, New York, 22 March 2022