Lot 154. An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (jue), Late Shang Dynasty, 13th - 11th century BC. Height 7 5/8 in., 19.5 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 USD. Lot sold 37,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's

with a U-shaped body supported on tall tapered tripod legs of triangular section, crisply cast on each side with a taotie mask, with raised circular eyes, curling horns and  hooked jaw, all on a leiwen ground, centered on a vertical flange and a loop handle issuing from a bovine mask, the high rim tapered to a point at the back, opposite the deep spout flanked by two capped finials cast with whorls, a single pictogram zi, beneath the handle, the patina a silvery-gray with patches of malachite encrustation, Japanese wood box by Zoroku, wood box (3).

Provenance: Japanese Collection from the 1950s.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 11 september 2012