Lot 712. A bronze ritual tripod wine vessel, jue, Late Shang dynasty, 12th-11th century BC; 8 3⁄4 in. (22.2 cm.) high. Price realised USD 22,680 (Estimate USD 20,000 – USD 30,000). © Christie's 2022

The deep body is raised on three blade-shaped supports and is flat-cast on the sides with a band of stylized dragons below a band of cruciform motifs all on a leiwen ground. The posts that rise from the rim have conical caps cast with whorl motifs. An inscription, nan (son) is cast beneath the handle which is surmounted by a bovine mask. The patina is of greyish olive-green color. 

Provenance: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 16 November 1973, lot 11.
The Property of J. R. H. Johnson, Esq; Sotheby’s London, 15 December 1981, lot 13.
Private collection, Japan.

Literature: Wang Tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby's and Christie's, Shanghai, 2007, no. 249.

Note: The graph cast under the handle, nan, may be translated as 'son,' but may also represent the surname of the Shang royal family.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022