Vestiges of Ancient China
Vestiges of Ancient China
Property from a North American Private Collection
The Zhao Ge Xia Guan Ding, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 4th / 3rd century BC | 東周 戰國 公元前四 / 三世紀 朝歌下官鼎
Auction Closed
September 19, 02:55 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
The Zhao Ge Xia Guan Ding
Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 4th / 3rd century BC
東周 戰國 公元前四 / 三世紀 朝歌下官鼎
incised to the top of the cover with an inscription reading Zhaoge xiaguan zai can fen fen, repeated on top of the handles with Zhaoge and xiaguan zai can fen (2)
蓋銘文：
朝歌 下官 載參分 分
耳銘文：
朝歌
下官 載參分
Width 9⅞ in., 25 cm
Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (1929-2014), coll. no. B1420.
Sotheby's New York, 19th March 2002, lot 37.
安思遠 (1929-2014) 收藏，收藏編號B1420
紐約蘇富比2002年3月19日，編號37
This bronze ding is remarkable for its inscription. The two characters, Zhaoge 朝歌, indicate the location to where the vessel belonged. Located in today's Hebi 鶴壁, Henan province, Zhaoge was the well-known capital city of the late Shang dynasty. During the Warring States period, it was occupied by the state of Wei 魏國. Xiaguan 下官 was an official title in ancient China designating responsibility for the food and drinks of ritual ceremonies, as well as the daily meals for the royal court. A Warring States period bronze dagger-axe (ge) is also known, based on its inscription, to have come from the same place as the present ding, see The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 1984, no. 11182.