£6,250
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art | 640
Auction: 14 May 2021 at 11:00 BST
商朝晚期 銘文青銅觶
of slender cylindrical form, the elongated pear-shaped body supported on a tall spreading foot and rising to a flaring mouth, the neck encircled by a double band, the inner foot cast with a two-character pictogram 'Zu Ding (ancestor Ding)', the patina of a mottled malachite-green colour with traces of cuprite
Provenance: formerly in the collection of Luz Papasian (1915- 2013), New York
Note: Bronze ritual vessels, such as this Zhi, would be filled with food and wine and set out in a form of communal banquet for the ancestors to come and share with their living descendants. This vessel remarkably preserves the very name of the individual to whom it was dedicated, 'Zu Ding (ancestor Ding)', which was cast on the inner foot.