Lot 985. A bronze ritual tripod wine vesse, jue, Shang dynasty, 13th-12th century; 7¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high. Estimate $30,000 - USD 40,000. Price realised USD 37,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The vessel has a deep body raised on three tall blade-shaped supports and is cast on the sides with three bow-string bands interrupted by the handle. The pair of posts that rise from the rim have conical caps cast with comma spirals. There is extensive malachite encrustation, Japanese Meiji-period wood box.

Provenance: A private Japanese collection, acquired from Sen Shu Tey Ltd., Tokyo in the 1990s.

Note: Two bronze jue of this type, with a plain body decorated with bow-string bands, are illustrated by Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1987, pp. 190-93, nos. 16 and 17, where the author, p. 193, notes that jue of this type were cast not only in pre-Anyang times but also throughout the Anyang period. Bagley also proposes that jue with long legs and a compact body, characteristics seen in the present vessel, would date to the earlier half of the period.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 18 – 19 September 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza