清十八世紀 灑金銅饕餮紋爵 《伯申作寶彝》銘

the U-shaped body supported on three splayed triangular blade feet, flaring at the mouthrim, one side with a channeled spout opposite an extended rim tapering to a point, the exterior cast with two stylised taotie masks divided by vertical flanges on a leiwen ground, below two capped posts on the rim decorated with whorl circles, one side set with a loop handle issuing from a mythical animal's mouth, the base inscribed in ancient seal script Boshen zuo baoyi ('Boshen made this precious wine vessel'), the metal surface well patinated to a reddish-brown colour with random splashes of gold

紐約蘇富比1983年2月25日，編號140

《文玩萃珍》，香港大學馮平山博物館，香港，1986年，編號161

There is a small patch of green oxidization on the tip-end of one foot and some nibbling and small patches of green oxidization to the inner edge of one leg. There is some light expected pitting and wear on the surface and along the edges, but overall the vessel is in very good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bronze vessels of this type were valued by the literati class in China for their reverence to archaism, and those bearing an epigraphic inscription were considered even more precious. Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss in Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986,  p. 184, quotes Ulrich Hausmann saying, 'Archaic bronzes and their inscriptions, the subject of centuries of epigraphic and stylistic studies by literary men and artists, became inseparable; so much so that since that time scholars writing characters have seen at the back of their minds the image of ancient bronze vessels whose rubbings they had carefully studied. ...what could be more fitting than to embellish one's studio with subtle allusions to the magnificent past, or to furnish the ancestral altar with vessels expressing the continuation of their inheritance.'

See three similar examples sold at auction; one at Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lot 321, with a slightly different pair of capped posts rising from the rim; another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th May 2009, lot 1956, which appears to be almost identical with the present example; and a third jue, now in the Franz Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th April 2001, lot 771, bearing the same five-character archaic inscription Boshen zuo baoyi. A further gold-splashed jue is illustrated in Egan Mews, 'Gold-splashed Bronzes in the collection of Mr. Randolph Berens', Connoisseur, November, 1915, p. 144; and a pair, bearing the same inscription as the present example, was included in the exhibition The Minor Arts of China, Spink & Son, London, 1987, cat. no. 77, where this piece is also mentioned.
 
Jue of this type were inspired by Zhou dynasty archaic wine vessels, for example see one attributed to the early Western Zhou period, bearing a lengthy inscription that records the vessel being made for the Bo clan, illustrated in Bronzes of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1999, pl. 127, together with a gui bearing a three-character inscription Bo zuo gui ('Bo made this gui'), pl. 154.