Lot 3. An inscribed archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (Jue), Late Shang dynasty. Height 7⅝ in., 19.3 cm. Lot sold: 63,000 USD (Estimate: 12,000 - 15,000 USD). © Sothebys.

with a two-character inscription beneath the handle reading Fu Wu.

Literature: Rose Kerr et al., Chinese Antiquities from the Wou Kiuan Collection. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, Hong Kong, 2011, pl. 3.

Note: The inscription indicates this vessel was made for Father Wu. Six other 'Fu Wu' jue are recorded, five of which are published in the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2007, nos 07927-07931; the other was sold in our London rooms, 15th April 1980, lot 10, illustrated in Wang Tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby's and Christie's Sales, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 268.

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