A BRONZE RITUAL WINE VASE, GU, SHANG DYNASTY, LATTER ERLIGANG STAGE

Expert’s note: The present vessel belongs to the latter stage of the Erligang phase. Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections illustrates a series of bronze ‘gu’ that span this transitional period. In these illustrations one can see the gradual change in the shape from the broader silhouette of the earlier examples, figures 25.1 and 25.2, to the taller and more slender silhouette of the later examples, figures 25.5 and 25.6, and notes that the thickened waist is seen only occasionally during this period. Furthermore, all of these vessels, along with the present lot, share similar cruciform apertures left by the casting process. See Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections vol. 1, 1987, p. 218-219, no. 25.1-25.6.

China, 13th century BC. The trumpet-shaped neck is undecorated while the middle section, which is set between double bow-string borders, is flat-cast with taotie masks formed by pairs of confronted birds with prominent pupils and scrolling tails, centered on narrow flanges and repeated on the foot below two cruciform apertures.

Provenance: From a private estate in California, United States.
Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, casting irregularities, signs of burial, encrustations, corrosion, warping, small nicks, light scratches, few minuscule losses. The vessel with the typical anthracite color, its lustrous metallic surface still visible beneath the rich, naturally grown patina with encrustations of malachite and azurite.

Weight: 425.1 g
Dimensions: Height 17.6 cm

Bronze gu vessels were used as sacrificial wine receptacles and were among the most important objects used in rituals during the late Shang dynasty. Although reference to the name ‘gu’ is frequently found in early ritual texts, it only became associated with the present vessel shape in the catalogs of antiquities produced by Song dynasty scholars. The shape appears to have originated in pottery production of the Neolithic period, which came in various sizes and shapes. The bronze version, however, probably emerged during the Erligang period (c. 1510-1460 BC) and became popular during the Yinxu period (1250-1192 BC), when it was used as a main component of ritual vessel sets.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related taller bronze gu, Shang dynasty, dated 13 century BC, 25 cm high, illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, 1987, p. 216, no. 25, together with a closely related bronze gu from Anhui Jiashan xian, 19.5 cm high, p. 218, fig. 25.2. Compare a related, slightly later bronze gu dated to the late Anyang period, 12th-11th century BC, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and illustrated in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the National Palace Museum Collection, 1998, p. 503.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2013, lot 1214
Price: USD 43,750 or approx. EUR 52,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A small bronze ritual wine vessel (gu), Shang dynasty, 13th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of casting, decoration, and motifs, with similar taotie masks, bird heads, bow-string bands, and cruciform apertures. Note the size (20 cm).