Archaic Bronze

Lot 103. An archaic bronze ritual food vessel and cover (gui), Late Western Zhou Dynasty, 9th-8th century BC. Width 15 in., 38.1 cm. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Lot sold 170,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's raised on three paw feet issuing from stylized animal masks, cast in high relief on the splayed base decorated with a gadrooned border, the bombé form body with four horizontal grooves below a border of stylized hooked dragon motifs, centered on taotie and... [Lire la suite]

Lot 102. An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (gu), Late Shang Dynasty, 13th - 12th century BC. Height 10 3/4 in., 27.2 cm. Estimate  60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 74,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's of slender, waisted form, crisply cast around the mid-section and splayed foot with pairs of taotie masks with raised eyes on a fine leiwen ground, centered by notched flanges and divided by a pair of bowstrings interrupted by two cruciform and two vertical... [Lire la suite]

Lot 101. A rare archaic bronze wine vessel (fanglei), Late Shang Dynasty, 13th - 11th century BC. Height 15 1/2 in., 39.4 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Lot sold 68,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's of rectangular section with high rounded shoulders, cast with eight large pendent triangular blades each enclosing a taotie mask above a small cicada and one with a central raised animal mask, each side with a broad band of further taotie divided by... [Lire la suite]

Lot 97. A rare archaic bronze ritual tripod vessel (jia), Late Shang Dynasty, 13th - 11th century BC. Height 12 1/4 in., 31 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Lot sold 170,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's the elegant waisted body with flared rim, supported on three hollow legs of tapering triangular section, crisply cast in linear relief with a two bands of three pairs of taotie composed of stylized hooks and angular scrolls with raised eyes, divided by flanges beneath... [Lire la suite]

Lot 96. A rare archaic bronze ritual ewer and cover (he), Late Western Zhou Dynasty, 9th-8th century BC. Diameter 11 in., 27.9 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 116,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's of compressed globular form, supported by three sturdy conical legs, the body cast with a frieze of an undulating wave pattern surmounting rows of softly rounded ribs, a small loop handle emerging from a bovine mask at the side coaxial with a cylindrical spout, the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 95. An archaic bronze ritual food vessel (yu), Late Shang Dynasty, 13th - 11th century BC. Diameter 11 in., 27.9 cm. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 USD. Lot sold 410,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's the deep U-shaped body with rounded sides rising to an everted rim, cast with a wide band of evenly spaced projecting bosses enclosed within a diamond trellis ground composed of elongated leiwen, surmounted by a narrow band of confronting dragons on a leiwen ground alternately... [Lire la suite]

Lot 94. A rare archaic bronze ritual tripod vessel and cover (ding), Middle Western Zhou Dynasty, 9th century BC. Height 11 in., 27.9 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 43,750 USD. Photo Sotheby's the body a deep U-shape rising to a slightly inverted neck, decorated with a single flat cast band of angular S-scrolls of dragon head profiles with a large pair of loop handles of rectangular section set to each side, the cover sharply angled between the top and... [Lire la suite]

Lot 1217. An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, gu, Shang dynasty, 13th-12th century BC; 11½ in. (29.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 40,000 - USD 60,000. Price realised USD 60,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013 The tall slender vessel is divided into three sections. The trumpet-shaped upper body is crisply cast with four upright cicada blades, and the central section and spreading foot are decorated with a dense leiwen and taotie-pattern band divided by four vertical ribbed flanges, and... [Lire la suite]

Lot 123. An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, Jue, Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 19.5cm (7 5/8in) high. Estimate: £18,000 - £20,000. Sold for £ 22,562 (€ 26,339). Photo: Bonhams. The vessel with a deep U-shaped body rising from three splayed triangular blade legs to a pointed rim opposite a guttered spout flanked by a pair of posts capped with conical 'fire-whorl' medallions, the exterior boldly cast with two taotie masks with bulging eyes separated by flanges, one side set with a loop handle issuing from... [Lire la suite]

Lot 206. An archaic bronze ritual food vessel and cover, Gui, Western Zhou dynasty (1050-771 BC). Width across handles 27.5 cm, 10¾ in. Estimate: 15,000 - 25,000 GBP. Lot sold 68,750 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's the deep U-shaped sides flaring slightly at the mouth, flanked by a pair of loop handles issuing from bovine masks and terminating in a pendent tab, cast around the body with a large band featuring a pair of prominent confronted kui dragons and centered on a raised mask forming a... [Lire la suite]