A LARGE AND FINELY CAST RITUAL BRONZE WINE VESSEL, POU, SHANG DYNASTY China, 12^th-11^th century BC. The compressed globular body rising from a tall splayed foot to a short tapering neck surmounted by a wide flaring mouth. The central band crisply cast with three taotie patterns each centered by a narrow flange, below a band of confronting kuilong divided by three imposing bovine masks cast in high relief. The foot with two pierced apertures above a band of kuilong, all against a leiwen ground.

Provenance: Sotheby’s New York, 7 December 1983, lot 49. A private collection in New York, USA, acquired from the above. Christie’s New York, 4 June 1992, lot 179. Canadian private collection, acquired from the above. Sotheby’s New York, 20 March 2002, lot 18. A noted collector, acquired from the above.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age and presenting extraordinary well with >90% of the intricate design still sharp and crisp, something that is exceedingly rare on the present group of vessels. Minor nicks, dents and surface scratches. Encrustations. A faint short crack to the base. Minor areas of corrosion with associated losses and old fills as well as a single restoration to foot rim, circa 5x5 cm, all precisely visible on the X-ray images provided (are available upon request). Superb dark-green patina overall, naturally grown over millennia.

Weight: 6.0 kg
Dimensions: Diameter 33 cm, Height 26 cm

Distinguished by its large size and dignified form, the present pou is a magnificent example of bronze vessels created in the second half of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). Inspired by ceramic prototypes from the Neolithic era, vessels of this type appeared in the Shang bronze casting repertory around the end of the Erligang phase (c. 1500-1300 BC). They were used as food and wine containers for ritual purposes, before disappearing by the beginning of the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-771BC).

Literature comparison: A closely related pou, 26 cm high, with similar cast decoration and similar large bovine masks cast in relief on the shoulder is illustrated by Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, page 334, no. 57. Also illustrated, page 337, fig. 57.3, is another closely related pou, 26.5 cm high, in the Museé Cernuschi, Paris. Another closely related pou, 26.2 cm high, is illustrated in Shang Ritual Bronzes, National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 1998, pages 388-389, no. 65.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related pou, 27.9 cm high, also dated 12^th-11^th century BC, at Christie’s New York, in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, on 24 March 2011, lot 1239, sold for USD 1,022,500. Compare another closely related pou, 33.1 cm diameter, dated to the late Shang dynasty, with cast repair, at Sotheby’s New York, in Important Chinese Art on 21 September 2021, lot 34, sold for USD 252,000.

商代大型饕餮紋青銅瓿
中國，公元前十二至十一世紀。饕餮紋青銅瓿，圓腹，斂口，圈足上有三個方形孔，流行於商早期至商晚期前段，為古代盛酒器。中央清晰可見三個饕餮紋，饕餮一對炯炯有神、不怒自威的巨目；其下方是夔龍紋；整器以雷紋為地。

來源：紐約蘇富比 1983年12月7日 lot 49；紐約私人收藏，購於上述拍賣；紐約佳士得 1992年6月 4日 lot 179；加拿大私人收藏，購於上述拍賣；紐約蘇富比 2002年3月20日 lot 18；一位知名收藏家，購於上述拍賣。
品相：品相極佳，與年齡相稱，呈現出非凡的品質，其紋飾仍然清晰明快，這在目前的青銅酒器中極為罕見。輕微的劃痕、凹痕和結殼，底部有些微短裂縫。 局部受腐蝕區域帶有相關損失和舊填充物，腳緣處有修復，大約 5x5 厘米。請參考 X光圖像（請聯繫我們團隊）。整體上包漿良好。

重量：6.0 公斤
尺寸：直徑33 厘米，高26 厘米

本瓿以體型大、造型莊重而著稱，是商代下半葉（公元前 約1600-1046 年）青銅器皿的典範。受新石器時代陶瓷原型的啟發，這種器皿出現在二里崗期末期（約公元前 1500-1300 年），用作祭祀禮器，消失於西周初年（約公元前 1046-771 年）。

文獻比較: 一件相近的瓿，高 26 厘米，相似的紋飾，見Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, 第 334頁，圖 57；也可見第337頁，圖 57.3, 另一件瓿，高 26.5 厘米，巴黎Museé Cernuschi美術館；以及第三件瓿，高26.2 厘米，見臺北故宮博物院商代Shang Ritual Bronzes, 1998, 第388-389頁, 圖65。

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的瓿, 高27.9 厘米，公元前十二至十一世紀，見紐約佳士得Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2011年3月24 日 lot 1239, 售價USD 1,022,500；比較另一件相似瓿，直徑33.1 厘米，商代末期，有修補，見紐約蘇富比 Important Chinese Art 2021年9月21日 lot 34, 售價USD 252,000。