THE XING ZUO FU DING GU AN IMPORTANT BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC

the slender waisted vessel resting on a low footring, finely cast on the trumpet-like neck with four upright triangular blades filled with dissolved taotie masks in high relief above a band of angular serpents, the middle section decorated with similar taotie masks centered and divided by striated flanges, the splayed foot decorated with taotie masks with angular horns, clawed legs and forehead shields below a band of kui dragons, divided by further flanges, all reserved on a fine leiwen ground and detailed by intagio, the patination of mottled green, a four-character inscription on the interior of the foot

Collection of Zhang Tingji (1768-1848).
Private Japanese collection.

Zhang Tingji, Qingyige suocang guqiwu wen, (Writings on Ancient Objects in the Qingyige Collection), 1848, vol. 1, p. 12.
Wu Shifen, Meigulu jinwen, (The Records of Pursuing Antiquity: Archaic Bronze Inscriptions), 1850, vol. 1.2, p. 83.
Xu Tongbo, Conggutang kuanzhixue, (Studies of Archaic Bronze Inscriptions in the Conggutang Studio), 1854, vol. 3, p. 20.
Wu Dacheng, Kezhai jigulu, (Kezhai's [Wu Dacheng] Records of Collecting Antiquities), 1896, vol. 21, p. 10.
Fang Junyi, Zhuiyizhai yiqikuanzhi kaoshi, (Interpretations of Archaic Bronze Inscriptions in the Zhuiyizhai Studio), 1894, vol. 16, p. 18.
Wang Chen, Xu Yinwencun, (Continuation of the Surviving Writings from the Yin Dynasty), 1935, vol. 2, p. 46.
Liu Tizhi, Xiaojiaojingge jinwen taben, (Rubbings of Archaic Bronze Inscriptions in the Xiaojiaojingge Studio), 1935, vol. 5, p. 61.
Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun, (Surviving Writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties), 1936, vol. 14, p. 29.
Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji, (Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions), Taipei, 1983, no. 6025.
The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yinzhou jinwen jicheng, (Compendium of Yin and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions), 1984, vol. 12, p. 252, no. 7234.
Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng, (Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties), Shanghai, 2012, vol. 18, p. 452, no. 9791.

The x-ray suggests that this piece is in overall good condition. There are four visible chaplets on the trumpet-like neck. The surface has been cleaned.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present gu vessel is a fine example of the final style of late Shang bronzes and has a particularly slender profile. Shang dynasty examples of these distinct proportions are very rare.  Only two other pieces appear to be published, all decorated with taotie mask on the middle section and a band of elephants on the foot, one in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities and illustrated by Bernhard Karlgren, 'Some Bronzes in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities', BMFEA 21, Stockholm, 1949, pl. 13; the other one with Christian Deydier Oriental Bronzes Ltd., included in Xueqin Li and Sarah Allan, Chinese Bronzes: A selection from European Collections, cat. no. 29. The form is however typical of gu vessels in the early Western Zhou dynasty. A group of bronze gu of closely related form, but lacking ornaments on the upper and middle sections, excavated from Shaanxi, were illustrated in Bronzes of Shang and Zhou Dynasties Unearthed in Shaanxi Province, vol. II, Beijing, 1980, pp. 23-25. The other notable feature on this gu vessel is the chevron pattern on the flanges, which appears to be unique.

The present vessel is from the collection of Zhang Tingji (1768-1848). In a note written in the second year of the Daoguang era (1822), Zhang Tingji recalled that this vessel was first acquired by his friend in Yangzhou and later entered his own collection. Thereafter, the inscription on this vessel has been included in several important publications of bronze inscriptions, including Wu Shifen's (1796-1856) Meigulu Jinwen and Wu Dacheng's (1835-1902) Kezhai jigulu.

The box for this lot is inscribed with a research note written by Professor Matsumaru Michio, dated 1985.

Zhang Tingji was born in 1768 into a wealthy family in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. Unsuccessful in civil examination, he devoted his life to collecting antiques, painting and writing calligraphy. He was renowned for his connoisseurship and befriended other collectors and scholars such as Ruan Yuan, Weng Fanggang, Huang Yi and Zhu Deyi, and in his diaries he recorded the details of his social life and collecting activities. He wrote many books and published his collection in the Qingyige suocang gu qiwu wen (Writings on Ancient Objects in the Qingyige Collection), the orginal manuscript of which is now in the Kyoto University Library. Qingyige was the name of his studio that was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion. Zhang died in 1848 at the age of eighty-one.