Lot
1506, The Shao fangding, a rare and important bronze rectangular ritual
food vessel, Late Shang Dynasty, Anyang, 11th Century B.C., 8 1/8
inches high
Lot
1506 is the Shao fangding, a rare and important bronze rectangular ritual
food vessel, Late Shang Dynasty, Anyang, 11th Century B.C. It is 8 1/8
inches high.
The lot was formerly in the collections of Huang Jun (1880-1951), Zungu Zhai, Beijing, prior to 1942, Hans Jürgon von Lochow (1902–1989) Collection, Beijing, by 1943, The Edward T. Chow (1910-1980) Collection, Bella and P.P. Chiu Collection, by 1988 and Eskenazi Ltd., London in 1996.
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:
"The illustrious provenance of the Shao Fangding can be traced back to
1942, when it was first published by Huang Jun (1880-1951) in
his Ye zhong pianyu sanji (Treasures from the Ye [Anyang]
Series III). Huang Jun, who goes by his literary name, Bochuan,
graduated from the late Qing government school for teaching Western
languages, Tongwen Guan. He spoke German, English, and French, and
served as a translator in a German bank after graduation while working
part-time in his uncle’s antique shop, Zungu Zhai. He later became
manager of Zungu Zhai and one of the most prominent figures in the
antique trade in Beijing. Huang Jun not only handled some of the most
important archaic bronzes and jades, but also published them in
catalogues such as the Yezhong pianyu series, Zungu Zhai
suo jian jijin tu chu ji, and Guyu tulu chuji (First
Collection of Ancient Chinese Jades), which is almost unique for his
generation of Chinese dealers. The Ye zhong pianyu series has
great academic importance, since most of the pieces are believed to be
from the late Shang capital Anyang (ancient name Ye). Most of the 133
bronze vessels included in the series are now in museum collections,
with only a few remaining in private hands. Huang Jun probably sold the
Shao Fangding directly to Hans Jürgon von Lochow (1902–1989), a German
collector who lived in Beijing. Von Lochow amassed a carefully
selected, world-class collection of archaic bronzes, and the Lochow
Collection was published by Gustav Ecke, another German who lived in
Beiing and collected and studied ancient Chinese art. Upon von Lochow’s
return to Germany, he donated most of his collection to the Museum für
Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne, while only a few of his pieces, including
the Shao Fangding, went back on the market, passing through the
hands of some of the most important dealers and collectors.
"Symbolizing royal power, fangding vessels had great
significance for Shang ruling elites. The largest extant Shang bronze
ritual vessel is the Si Mu Wu fangding, measuring 133 cm. high and
weighing 875 kilograms, found in Wuguan village, Anyang city, in 1939,
and now in the National Museum of China, and illustrated
in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji: Shang 2 (Complete
Collection of Chinese Bronzes: Shang), vol. 2, Beijing, 1997, p. 48,
no. 47. While massive fangding vessels were made exclusively
for kings and queens, fangding of regular size were reserved
for high-ranking aristocrats. The Shao Fangding’s superb proportions
and elaborate decoration, especially the dragon motifs cast on the
outer sides of the handles, an area that is usually left undecorated,
demonstrate the sophistication of bronze design and casting in the late
Shang capital, Anyang. There appear to be only a few published examples
that may be cited as parallels. A similar, but smaller, late
Shang fangding (18.7 cm. high) in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art, Kansas City, is illustrated by R. Bagley in Shang Ritual
Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D. C., 1987,
p. 475. It is interesting to note that the
Nelson-Atkins fangding is also from the collection of Huang
Jun, and is illustrated in the Yezhong pianyu erji, Beijing, 1937,
vol. 1, p. 3. Another similarfangding (20.8 cm. high), lacking the
relief taotie masks at the top of the legs, is also
illustrated by R. Bagley, ibid, pp. 472-74, no. 88. A larger
example (26 cm. high) in the Pillsbury Collection, is illustrated by B.
Karlgren in A Catalogue of the Chinese Bronzes in the Alfred R.
Pillsbury Collection, Minneapolis, 1952, pl. 1, no. 1. Compare, also,
the Ya Yi Fangding, sold at Christie’s New York, 14-15 September 2017,
lot 907. The taotie motifs on these four similar examples
have regular C-shaped horns rather than the rare dragon-shaped horns on
the present Shao Fangding."
The lot has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,095,000.
Lot
1508, the Ge Zu Gui, large bronze ritual food vessel, Early Western
Zhou Dynasty, 12th-11th Century B.C., 15 inches in diameter
Lot
1508 is an impressive and large bronze food vessel from the Early
Western Zhou Dynasty, 12th-11th Century B.C. It is 15 inches in
diameter.
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:
"Gui of this type, which were used to hold offerings of grain,
were popular during the early Western Zhou period. They typically
feature a broad register comprising two taotie masks above a
narrower register of dragons, snakes or birds that encircles the foot
above the bevel, and is sometimes repeated in a narrow register below
the rim of the vessel. The handles of these gui are usually
surmounted by animal heads with either blunt horns or prominent
C-shaped horns that lay flat against the side of the head, such as
those seen on the present vessel. The sides of the handles are cast
with simplified curved wings, while claws and hooked tails are cast on
the pendent tabs below.
"Whilst the present gui displays many of these features
typical of the early Western Zhou period, it is of unusually large size
and imposing proportions. A gui of comparable size (37.5 cm.
across the handles), with a similarly-formed tall spreading foot, dated
to the early Western Zhou period, is in the Arthur M. Sackler
Collection, and is illustrated by J. Rawson in Western Zhou Ritual
Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Vol. IIB."
The lot has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $555,000.
