A BRONZE RITUAL WATER VESSEL (YI) LATE WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 8TH CENTURY BC |

the rounded sides tapering on one end to the long curved channeled spout, the exterior with a wide border of highly stylized zoomorphs delineated in intaglio encircling the rim, the loop handle formed by the arched body of a dragon with an inward facing bottle-horned head reaching up from the base of the vessel to bite the rim, its long tail coiling outward, all raised on four truncated cabriole legs, the interior with a twenty-character inscription, possibly later added, translated as 'Shu Nan Fu made this yi-vessel for the lü-rite for wedding of consort Huo. May her descendants for ten thousand years forever treasure and use it', the surface with a rich olive-brown patina and malachite encrustation

Collection of Tadamasa Hayashi (1854-1906), Paris.
Galeries de M. M. Durand Ruel, Paris, 27th January-1st February 1902, lot 852.
Collection of M. Raymond Koechlin (1860-1931), Paris.
Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 9th-11th June 1926, lot 205.
Sotheby’s London, 11th December 1990, lot 7.
Christie’s London, 16th November 1998, lot 147.

Wang Tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby’s and Christie’s Sales, Shanghai, 2005, pl. 341.

The vessel is in generally good condition. It has a depression to the underside of the body (approx. 3.2 x 1 cm), probably from corrosion and/or cleaning; and minor expected wear to the surface, including minute pits, small flakes, and mottled patina. X-ray images are available upon request.
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.

Compare the present vessel to an example illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1990, pl. 120, and sold at Christie's New York, 25th-26th March 2010, lot 1009, where Rawson notes that the form appears late in the dynasty and an early iteration of the form is inscribed as a he or water ewer (ibid., 713). A bronze yi bearing the same inscription is in the Palace Museum, Beijing and illustrated in Bronzes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1999, pl. 210.