Coco Li
Cataloguer / Sale Coordinator, Chinese Works of Art
Lot 33W
AN ARCHAIC RITUAL BRONZE TRIPOD FOOD VESSEL AND COVER, DING Late Spring and Autumn-early Warring States Period, 5th century BC
14 December 2023, 17:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$20,480 inc. premium
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Dessa Goddard
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Michael Hughes
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I-Hsuan Chen
Senior Specialist
AN ARCHAIC RITUAL BRONZE TRIPOD FOOD VESSEL AND COVER, DING
Late Spring and Autumn-early Warring States Period, 5th century BC
Handsomely modeled and finely decorated with horizontal bands of entwined dragons in low relief, the body divided by a raised rope-twist line at waist, a pair of 'U'-shaped handle raised from the shoulder, the shallow domed cover decorated with concentric bands of the same design with three loop ring handles on top centering a rectangular loose ring knob, all supported by three cabriole legs surmounted by taotie masks, the dark grey bronze with thin encrustations of malachite, cuprite, and earth.
16 3/16in (41.2cm) across
Handsomely modeled and finely decorated with horizontal bands of entwined dragons in low relief, the body divided by a raised rope-twist line at waist, a pair of 'U'-shaped handle raised from the shoulder, the shallow domed cover decorated with concentric bands of the same design with three loop ring handles on top centering a rectangular loose ring knob, all supported by three cabriole legs surmounted by taotie masks, the dark grey bronze with thin encrustations of malachite, cuprite, and earth.
16 3/16in (41.2cm) across
Footnotes
春秋晚期-戰國初期 紀元前五世紀 蟠龍紋帶蓋青銅鼎
Compare the bronze ding with very similar decoration, in the collection of Shouyang Studio, exhibited in the Shanghai Museum and the Art Museum of Chinese University of Hong Kong, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Shouyang Studio: The Katherine and George Fan Collection, Shanghai, 2008, pp. 162-164, no. 60, described as early Warring States period.
Compare also the closely related bronze ding and cover, in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by Lefebvre d'Argencé, Bronze Vessels of Ancient China in the Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, 1977, pp. 120-121, no. LII, described as late Spring and Autumn or early Warring States period, 1st half of 5th century BC.
The discovery and excavation of the ancient foundry site in the mid-20th century at present day Houma, Shanxi province, unearthed over 1200 pieces of pottery molds and models used for bronze casting. The facility was established in early 6th century BC by the rulers of the Jin State. The wealth of patterned pottery molds and models is an unparalleled source for understanding the style and the complex casting technologies of this period, specifically in the Shanxi region.
Compare the model with cabriole legs with taotie mask similar to the present example, illustrated in Art of the Houma Foundry: Institute of Archaeology of Shanxi Province, Princeton, 1992, p. 92, no. 53, and pp. 122-123, nos. 37-44. Compare also the entwined dragon designs similar to the present example, published in the same volume, op. cit., p. 255, nos. 378 and 380, and pp. 232-233, nos. 401-405.
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