Lot 103. An archaic bronze wine vessel, gu, Late Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 45cm (17 3/4in) high. Sold for HKD 318,000 (Est: HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

Of slender waisted form, finely cast around the mid-section and splayed foot with pairs of taotie masks with raised eyes on a fine leiwen ground, the taotie on the splayed foot further enhanced with an openwork design, centered by notched flanges and divided by a pair of bowstrings, the tall flared neck encircled by four upright triangular blades rising from a band of spirals, the reddish-brown patina with areas of malachite-green encrustation, box.

Provenance: An Asian private collection, acquired in the early 2000s.

Note: Gu vessels were used as sacrificial wine receptacles and were among the most important objects used in rituals during the late Shang dynasty. Although reference to the name gu is frequently found in early ritual texts, it became associated with the present vessel shape in the Catalogues of Antiquities produced by Song dynasty scholars. The shape appears to have originated in pottery production of the Neolithic period, which came in various sizes and shapes. The bronze version, however, probably emerged during the Erligang period (c.1510-1460 BC) and became popular during the Yinxu period (1250-1192 BC), when it became an important component of ritual vessel sets. For related discussion, see Ju Huanwen, Yin Zhou zhiji qingtong guxingqi zhi gongyong ji xiangguan zhuzi [The functions of the bronze gu vessels in the Yin Zhou period and the study of related inscriptions], included in Zhongguo wenzi yanjiou di shijiu ji [The study of Chinese characters vol.19], Shanghai, 2014, pp.29-40.

For similar examples of gu vessels, see a Huang gu in the Shanghai Museum and a Fu gu in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, Beijing, 1998, vol.2, nos.125-126; compare also a bronze gu vessel sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 597.

Bonhams. GANBEI A TOAST TO CHINESE WINE CULTURE, 30 November 2022, Hong Kong, Admiralty