An archaic bronze wine vessel, lei Eastern Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period | 東周至春秋時代 青銅罍

Galerie 41, Monaco, 2nd May 2006. 

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Galerie 41，摩納哥，2006年5月2日

The intricate pattern sensitively cast on this piece is extraordinary, showcasing the virtuosity of the casters from the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770-256 BC). Compare a lei with similar shape and three narrow bands of related delicate design, but lacking a pair of ring handles, excavated from the tomb of Lady Meng Ji at Baoxiangsi, Guangshan, Henan province in 1983, illustrated in Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, p. 205, fig. 30.1.

Related inverted blade motifs can be found on a lei with designs in larger scale, excavated from Jinsheng cun, Taiyuan, Shaanxi province in 1988, now in the Shanxi sheng kaogu yanjiusuo / Research Institute of the Shanxi Province, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji / A Complete Collection of Chinese Ancient Bronzes, vol. 8, Eastern Zhou 2, Beijing, 1995, pls 49-50.

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本青銅罍紋飾精細，展示東周銅匠高超造詣。比較另一青銅罍，器型相近，三道紋飾亦相近，唯無環耳，1983年河南省光山縣寶相寺孟姬墓出土，圖載蘇芳淑著，《Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，紐約，1995年，頁205，圖30.1。

另比一例，1988年陝西太原金勝村出土，現存於山西省考古研究所，圖載《中國青銅器全集》，卷8，東周2，北京，1995年，圖版49-50。