Chinese Shang Dynasty Bronze Bird Ritual Ewer

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Ancient / Ethnographic Around The World

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 12, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-03-12 10:00:00 2020-03-12 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient / Ethnographic Around The World https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic-around-the-world-4957
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• Lot Description
  East Asia, China, Shang to Western Zhou Dynasty, ca. 12th to 8th century BCE. A stunning cast-leaded-bronze vessel of a highly stylized form depicting an abstract avian figure. The standing bird has a rotund body with a rounded chest, a pair of folded rings with incised feathers, broad feet with large claws, and a sloped tail that doubles as a handle. The lid features a petite feline jumping towards a bird of a larger size, and the spout on the front of the vessel emulates a recumbent feline with a curled tail. The avian vessel features a raised head with beady eyes, an upturned nose, and a mouth full of bared fangs, all beneath a plumed crest. Intricately incised curvilinear details adorn the entire composition, and an ancient Chinese inscription is presented underneath the lid. Mottled green and brow patina imbues this vessel with a wonderful presentation evocative of ancient China! Size: 13.125" L x 5.875" W x 12.125" H (33.3 cm x 14.9 cm x 30.8 cm).
  
  We owe the preservation of these ancient bronzes to their burial, either in storage pits, where they were hastily hidden by fleeing members of a defeated elite house, or, more commonly, in tombs. During the Shang dynasty, members of the royalty were accompanied in the afterlife by their bronzes, ceramics, weapons, amulets, and ornaments, and even the human and animal entourage that surrounded them in life: servants, bodyguards, horses, chariots, and charioteers. Each tomb had a set of specialized bronze vessels, and vessels like this example were designed to hold wine, water, or other liquid offerings to be poured from the spout.
  
  A stylistically similar example, from the Zhou Dynasty and of a smaller size, hammered for $367,500 at Christie's, New York "Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art" auction (sale 12900, March 17, 2017, lot 1017).
  
  Provenance: private Ventura County, California, USA collection, acquired in the 1980s to 1990s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #149122

  Condition

  Repair to one leg and crest on largest head, with resurfacing along break lines. Metal rods on lid likely replaced. Minor encrustations and abrasions to legs, body, lid, head, and spout, with softening to some finer details, and slight bending to overall form of lid. Nice earthen deposits and great patina throughout.
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