Lot 56. A rare archaic bronze ritual food vessel, gui, Early Western Zhou Dynasty; 24.8cm (9 3/4in) wide. Estimate £ 8,000-12,000. Sold for £ 27,500 (€ 31,469). Courtesy Bonhams. 

The compressed globular vessel with flaring rim raised on a tall stepped foot, cast with a narrow band containing four sets of intricate taotie masks formed with raised eyes and asymmetric scrolls, bisected by animal masks to each side and flanked by a pair of loop handles with pendants issuing from ox heads, the foot similarly decorated with taotie masks separated by flanges.

Note: The combination of unusually high ring foot and the triple band motifs appear typical of the early Western Zhou bronze production in the Henan and Shaanxi Provinces. Compare with gui vessels illustrated by J.Rawson in Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., Vol.IIB, 1990, fig.43.1, p.385, fig.44 p.390 and fig.45.4 p.393.