Chinese Ritual Bronzes
Except otherwise stated, all results below include the premium.
See also : Archaic China Glass and crystal Glass < 1900
Chronology : Origin 600 BCE - CE
See also : Archaic China Glass and crystal Glass < 1900
Chronology : Origin 600 BCE - CE
Shang Dynasty in Anyang
Intro
In terms of Shang ritual objects, the chronological mark is the tomb of Fu Hao, closed about 3,250 years ago and discovered untouched in 1976 with 1,800 objects in various materials that constitute a fabulous time capsule. Fu Hao was the consort of a Shang emperor who resided in the new 'Yinxu' capital of that dynasty in present-day Anyang.
The bronze achieved a tremendous development, both as the ideal material for making ritual utensils and also, already, as art. This alloy of copper and tin thus succeeded to pure copper whose resistance is lower.
Many different forms of vessels were used for keeping millet wine or cooking food. They are more or less carved depending on the social rank of their owner. The best known figure being the monster face named taotie. As in Egypt, these pieces often accompanied the burial of the dead.
Many archaic bronze shapes copy ceramic wares that predate Yinxu.
The bronze achieved a tremendous development, both as the ideal material for making ritual utensils and also, already, as art. This alloy of copper and tin thus succeeded to pure copper whose resistance is lower.
Many different forms of vessels were used for keeping millet wine or cooking food. They are more or less carved depending on the social rank of their owner. The best known figure being the monster face named taotie. As in Egypt, these pieces often accompanied the burial of the dead.
Many archaic bronze shapes copy ceramic wares that predate Yinxu.
1
Fangzun ex Fujita Museum
2017 SOLD for $ 37M by Christie's
Chinese history emerges from the mists of legend with the Shang dynasty that lasted more than five centuries. Bronze comes in supplement to the pottery and is used especially for ritual vessels. For the excitement of the archaeologists the Shang and Zhou bronzes have preserved a perfect condition thanks to a sufficient content of tin. Their finely incised decoration of tight mystical figures and motifs in reserves is neither corroded nor worn.
The long reign of Wu Din marks the culmination of the Shang around 3250 years ago. He resides in the new capital Yinxu which is today in the territory of the city of Anyang.
The tomb of Fu Hao, discovered in 1976, had never been visited by looters. This wife of Wu Din had a considerable political influence, even becoming the supreme general of the armies. Her tomb is a complete catalog of the art of the Shang, including 1800 pieces mainly in jade, bone, bronze and stone, not forgetting 6,900 cowry shells that served as money and 16 skeletons of sacrificed slaves.
The ritual bronzes of the Shang had a wide variety of shapes suitable for storage and cooking. The rites defined the quantities of sacrificial vessels authorized according to the social position. Under the Zhou who overthrew the Shang the king could use 9 ding and 8 gui while a nobleman was limited to 3 ding and 2 gui. The tomb of Fu Hao contained the incredible quantity of 200 ritual bronzes.
On March 15, 2017, Christie's dispersed the Chinese art collection of the Fujita Museum in Osaka, including four Shang bronzes : a fangzun, a fanglei, a pou and a gong. The catalog indicates for each of these pieces an acquisition prior to 1940 by the museum. Their similarity to the bronzes of Fu Hao and the comparable or sometimes superior quality of their technique and of their mystical decoration suggests that these four vessels came from a same royal tomb. They have kept their cover, except of course the zun which never has one.
Lot 523, sold for $ 37M from a lower estimate of $ 6M, was a 52 cm high vessel with a complex three-body shape. By its large flared mouth (zun) of square section (fang), it is a fangzun.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's to introduce the sale.
The long reign of Wu Din marks the culmination of the Shang around 3250 years ago. He resides in the new capital Yinxu which is today in the territory of the city of Anyang.
The tomb of Fu Hao, discovered in 1976, had never been visited by looters. This wife of Wu Din had a considerable political influence, even becoming the supreme general of the armies. Her tomb is a complete catalog of the art of the Shang, including 1800 pieces mainly in jade, bone, bronze and stone, not forgetting 6,900 cowry shells that served as money and 16 skeletons of sacrificed slaves.
The ritual bronzes of the Shang had a wide variety of shapes suitable for storage and cooking. The rites defined the quantities of sacrificial vessels authorized according to the social position. Under the Zhou who overthrew the Shang the king could use 9 ding and 8 gui while a nobleman was limited to 3 ding and 2 gui. The tomb of Fu Hao contained the incredible quantity of 200 ritual bronzes.
On March 15, 2017, Christie's dispersed the Chinese art collection of the Fujita Museum in Osaka, including four Shang bronzes : a fangzun, a fanglei, a pou and a gong. The catalog indicates for each of these pieces an acquisition prior to 1940 by the museum. Their similarity to the bronzes of Fu Hao and the comparable or sometimes superior quality of their technique and of their mystical decoration suggests that these four vessels came from a same royal tomb. They have kept their cover, except of course the zun which never has one.
Lot 523, sold for $ 37M from a lower estimate of $ 6M, was a 52 cm high vessel with a complex three-body shape. By its large flared mouth (zun) of square section (fang), it is a fangzun.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's to introduce the sale.
A Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel from the Fujita Museum sold for $37,207,500, a #worldauctionrecord for an archaic bronze. pic.twitter.com/VcxYG3BPkF
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 16, 2017
2
Fanglei ex Fujita Museum
2017 SOLD for $ 34M by Christie's
In the auction sale of the Chinese collection of the Fujita Museum by Christie's on March 15, 2017, lot 524, sold for $ 34M from a lower estimate of $ 5M, was a fanglei 63 cm high including its cover.
By comparison the Father Ji's fanglei, sold for $ 9.2M by Christie's in 2001, is 64 cm high without its lid which is lost. Ji's is dated from the Shang-Zhou transition two centuries later.
By comparison the Father Ji's fanglei, sold for $ 9.2M by Christie's in 2001, is 64 cm high without its lid which is lost. Ji's is dated from the Shang-Zhou transition two centuries later.
A Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel & Cover, Fanglei, from the Late Shang Dynasty from the Fujita Museum sold for $33,847,500 #AsianArtWeek pic.twitter.com/FIfq9JsYxm
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 16, 2017
3
Pou ex Fujita Museum
2017 SOLD for $ 27M by Christie's
In the auction sale of the Chinese collection of the Fujita Museum by Christie's on March 15, 2017, lot 525, sold for $ 27M from a lower estimated $ 4M, was a pou 57 cm high.
Its two-body shape with a round belly on a truncated cone base is archaic but its decoration is comparable to the other pieces in the sale.
Its two-body shape with a round belly on a truncated cone base is archaic but its decoration is comparable to the other pieces in the sale.
A Late Shang Dynasty Massive Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel and Cover, Pou, from the Fujita Museum sold for $27,127,500 #AsianArtWeek pic.twitter.com/v1HPYtI9BA
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 16, 2017
4
Ram Shaped Gong ex Fujita Museum
2017 SOLD for $ 27M by Christie's
The bronze art for Chinese vessels was diversified at the end of the Shang dynasty, from 3300 to 3050 years ago. The various shapes are adapted to their ritual uses. Li, yi, lei, fangyi, fanglei and hu examples were previously discussed in this column.
The gong and the zun may both become zoomorphic with a high degree of three-dimensional realism. The zun is designed for its ease of pouring, with a spout lined with broad lips. The gong or guang is an open vessel equipped with a removable lid over its entire upper surface.
On March 15, 2017, Christie's sold for $ 27M from a lower estimate of $ 6M a gong in the form of a ram 22 cm long, lot 526 estimated $ 6M. This piece is de-accessioned from the Fujita Museum in Osaka.
The back of the beast consists of the lid which is elongated to the superb head with its C-shaped horns. The body including the cover is embellished in shallow relief with the same traditional motifs as in the geometrically shaped vessels : taotie, stylized beasts. The thick legs ensure the stability of the vase above a stove. The back is surmounted by a dragon and a bird positioned like a handle.
The catalog of the auction house considers twelve other complete quadruped gong or zun examples of Shang period, all of them kept in museums : buffalos, elephants, fabulous animals, a boar, an elephant. The last one offered at auction was a buffalo zun in 1988.
Considering the sacred or sacrificial use of some of these animals, the extreme rarity of these pieces may surprise. It is probably due to a high difficulty of execution.
The gong and the zun may both become zoomorphic with a high degree of three-dimensional realism. The zun is designed for its ease of pouring, with a spout lined with broad lips. The gong or guang is an open vessel equipped with a removable lid over its entire upper surface.
On March 15, 2017, Christie's sold for $ 27M from a lower estimate of $ 6M a gong in the form of a ram 22 cm long, lot 526 estimated $ 6M. This piece is de-accessioned from the Fujita Museum in Osaka.
The back of the beast consists of the lid which is elongated to the superb head with its C-shaped horns. The body including the cover is embellished in shallow relief with the same traditional motifs as in the geometrically shaped vessels : taotie, stylized beasts. The thick legs ensure the stability of the vase above a stove. The back is surmounted by a dragon and a bird positioned like a handle.
The catalog of the auction house considers twelve other complete quadruped gong or zun examples of Shang period, all of them kept in museums : buffalos, elephants, fabulous animals, a boar, an elephant. The last one offered at auction was a buffalo zun in 1988.
Considering the sacred or sacrificial use of some of these animals, the extreme rarity of these pieces may surprise. It is probably due to a high difficulty of execution.
Christie’s NY to Offer Rare Chinese Art from Fujita Museum at 2017 Spring Sale https://t.co/Ag1ow96cfp #Auctions pic.twitter.com/5puxLHtGHv
— ARTINFO HongKong (@ARTINFOHongKong) October 23, 2016
5
Tiger and Owl Gong
2021 SOLD for $ 8.6M by Christie's
On March 18, 2021 , Christie's sold for $ 8.6M from a lower estimate of $ 4M a 30 cm long gong-type bronze, lot 505.
Gong and zun were the two forms of vessels used for pouring ritual wine during the Shang Dynasty. The gong is a covered boat, arguably easier to handle. The removable lid is accurately placed on the container. They poured without removing it.
The gong that comes for sale is doubly zoomorphic, with a fierce tiger in the front and an owl in the back. The feline has two rows of square teeth between which it spits a smoke when the boiling wine is poured. The two animal heads are in the round on the lid and the rest of the bodies is complete in low relief. The sides of the gong are lavishly decorated with mythical beasts, without taotie.
Six examples of this hybrid model are known, two of which were in Fu Hao's tomb in Anyang. The collection created to accompany this royal concubine into the afterlife forms a complete catalog of the Shang liturgical pieces around 1200 BCE.
The rarity of this model and the similarity of the six examples suggest that these bronzes came from the same workshop. Fu Hao's two gongs are inscribed with her name. The gong for sale has inside the container the wei type pictogram (according to the modern designation) surrounded by four clockwise imprints of a four-toe foot. The gong of the same model kept at the Cernuschi Museum has the same pictogram, which could identify a dignitary of the same rank as Fu Hao.
The abuse of wine harmed the sacred ritual : the Zhou suppressed the use of the gong.
Gong and zun were the two forms of vessels used for pouring ritual wine during the Shang Dynasty. The gong is a covered boat, arguably easier to handle. The removable lid is accurately placed on the container. They poured without removing it.
The gong that comes for sale is doubly zoomorphic, with a fierce tiger in the front and an owl in the back. The feline has two rows of square teeth between which it spits a smoke when the boiling wine is poured. The two animal heads are in the round on the lid and the rest of the bodies is complete in low relief. The sides of the gong are lavishly decorated with mythical beasts, without taotie.
Six examples of this hybrid model are known, two of which were in Fu Hao's tomb in Anyang. The collection created to accompany this royal concubine into the afterlife forms a complete catalog of the Shang liturgical pieces around 1200 BCE.
The rarity of this model and the similarity of the six examples suggest that these bronzes came from the same workshop. Fu Hao's two gongs are inscribed with her name. The gong for sale has inside the container the wei type pictogram (according to the modern designation) surrounded by four clockwise imprints of a four-toe foot. The gong of the same model kept at the Cernuschi Museum has the same pictogram, which could identify a dignitary of the same rank as Fu Hao.
The abuse of wine harmed the sacred ritual : the Zhou suppressed the use of the gong.
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Late Shang Fangjia
2007 SOLD for $ 8.1M by Sotheby's
The fangjia is a highly elegant wine vessel of square section placed over a stove by its four tall legs.
A specimen from the later Shang was sold for $ 8.1M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Sotheby's on March 19, 2007, lot 507. It is exquisitely carved on all its body and legs and retains its flat cover surmounted by birds.
A specimen from the later Shang was sold for $ 8.1M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Sotheby's on March 19, 2007, lot 507. It is exquisitely carved on all its body and legs and retains its flat cover surmounted by birds.
1072 BCE Shang Commemorative Gui
2021 SOLD for $ 5.4M by Sotheby's
Oracles predict history. In China, the recording of historical facts begins at the end of the Shang period. Oracle bones thus provide information on the progress of a military campaign carried out in the 15th year of Di Xin's reign, which may correspond to 1072 BCE.
On March 17, 2021, Sotheby's sold a ritual bronze vessel for $ 5.4M from a lower estimate of $ 600K, lot 193. It is of the gui form, used for grain, which is most common beside the ding. Its overall width including two side handles is 28 cm.
The interior of this vessel bears an inscription of exceptional length. Almost all of the 34 characters were deciphered in 2015 by an expert from the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The name of the donor, Hua, and the day of the donation, guisi, are identified. The beneficiary is a xiaozi, meaning a general, whose name is not readable. The amount and nature of the donation is ten peng of cowries, a shell of a marine mollusk which was the most common currency at that time.
This act rewards the loyalty of this general who mounted the military campaign against the Yifeng, feng meaning foreigner. The general used this endowment to make this sacrificial vessel which he dedicates to an ancestor, Father Ding. The inscription is dated by its month, ji.
A vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros and another in the shape of a you have inscriptions relating to the same military campaign. The you rewarded another general.
Di Xin is a depraved and cruel king, a lover of wine and women. He is overthrown by the Zhou after a politically catastrophic reign. Inscriptions will become more frequent with this new dynasty.
On March 17, 2021, Sotheby's sold a ritual bronze vessel for $ 5.4M from a lower estimate of $ 600K, lot 193. It is of the gui form, used for grain, which is most common beside the ding. Its overall width including two side handles is 28 cm.
The interior of this vessel bears an inscription of exceptional length. Almost all of the 34 characters were deciphered in 2015 by an expert from the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The name of the donor, Hua, and the day of the donation, guisi, are identified. The beneficiary is a xiaozi, meaning a general, whose name is not readable. The amount and nature of the donation is ten peng of cowries, a shell of a marine mollusk which was the most common currency at that time.
This act rewards the loyalty of this general who mounted the military campaign against the Yifeng, feng meaning foreigner. The general used this endowment to make this sacrificial vessel which he dedicates to an ancestor, Father Ding. The inscription is dated by its month, ji.
A vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros and another in the shape of a you have inscriptions relating to the same military campaign. The you rewarded another general.
Di Xin is a depraved and cruel king, a lover of wine and women. He is overthrown by the Zhou after a politically catastrophic reign. Inscriptions will become more frequent with this new dynasty.
Shang-Zhou Father Ji's Fanglei
2001 SOLD for $ 9.2 M by Christie's
The vase of Father Ji is outstanding by its monumental size, 64 cm high, and by the superb quality of its bronze casting.
This ritual wine vessel is a fanglei with square section, one of the most prestigious types that reached its apogee 3100 years ago in the transitional period between the Shang and the Western Zhou. It does not have its cover.
Its decoration in high relief over multiple registers meets a classic iconography but is particularly abundant and expressive : taotie, animals, dragons, masks. It includes an inscription in six characters: Father Ji made on commission (or commissioned) this sacred vessel.
This exceptional piece was sold by Christie's for $ 9.2M on March 20, 2001.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's before it was removed from a sale scheduled for March 20, 2014. It had then be sold to a group of collectors in favor of the Hunan Provincial Museum.
This ritual wine vessel is a fanglei with square section, one of the most prestigious types that reached its apogee 3100 years ago in the transitional period between the Shang and the Western Zhou. It does not have its cover.
Its decoration in high relief over multiple registers meets a classic iconography but is particularly abundant and expressive : taotie, animals, dragons, masks. It includes an inscription in six characters: Father Ji made on commission (or commissioned) this sacred vessel.
This exceptional piece was sold by Christie's for $ 9.2M on March 20, 2001.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's before it was removed from a sale scheduled for March 20, 2014. It had then be sold to a group of collectors in favor of the Hunan Provincial Museum.
Western Zhou Gui
2013 SOLD for $ 6.7M by Sotheby's
The Western Zhou overthrew the Shang but continued their traditions, at least initially. At this time of transition, the preferred ritual piece is the bronze vessel holding the sacred food or the millet wine.
Often made for princely usage, these objects were however not uncommon and many of them have survived. They are very finely decorated, usually including mythical beasts, and their inscriptions invite the decoding of the beginnings of Chinese civilization.
Their use was perhaps funeral but certainly ceremonial. Almost all of them are adorned with several Taotie, these pairs of eyes whose obsessive gaze enables a ritual communication between the living and the dead.
The Gui vessels of the Western Zhou have a complex shape with two bodies. The upper part is bellied, between two large handles. The base is a parallelepiped with sharp right angles. The entire surface is decorated on both parts.
A beautiful specimen was sold for $ 6.7M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Sotheby's on September 17, 2013, lot 3. Executed 3000 years ago, this zuo bao yi gui food vessel has a peculiarity: the Taotie eyes of the base are all on both sides of the edges, increasing the hypnotic power.
Often made for princely usage, these objects were however not uncommon and many of them have survived. They are very finely decorated, usually including mythical beasts, and their inscriptions invite the decoding of the beginnings of Chinese civilization.
Their use was perhaps funeral but certainly ceremonial. Almost all of them are adorned with several Taotie, these pairs of eyes whose obsessive gaze enables a ritual communication between the living and the dead.
The Gui vessels of the Western Zhou have a complex shape with two bodies. The upper part is bellied, between two large handles. The base is a parallelepiped with sharp right angles. The entire surface is decorated on both parts.
A beautiful specimen was sold for $ 6.7M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Sotheby's on September 17, 2013, lot 3. Executed 3000 years ago, this zuo bao yi gui food vessel has a peculiarity: the Taotie eyes of the base are all on both sides of the edges, increasing the hypnotic power.
Warring States Fang Hu
2020 SOLD for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's
Around 400 BCE the Zhou were forced to recognize the full independence of three kingdoms around Henan. Their inexorable decline opens the Warring States period which will put up to seven major states in competition. The Qin emerge victorious in 221 BCE and found the Chinese empire.
The wording Warring States wrongly evokes anarchy. This period instead opened up China to new life styles through the development of Confucianism and Taoism. The traditional sacrificial or funeral rites persist while taking into account the observation of nature and medicine. The taotie, which expressed the mystery of the spirits, disappear from the bronze vessels.
The technological evolution of bronze becomes multidisciplinary. In very thick walls, deep grooves are filled with precious materials that bring the colors : gold, silver, copper, malachite, turquoise. Bronze handles and zoomorphic elements are added.
The baluster-shaped hu is the most common vessel at that time for the ritual use of wine. On September 23, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M a 35 cm high covered fang hu, lot 578. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Fang means that the bottle has a square section. It is richly decorated with gold, silver and glass.
The gold was encrusted by hammering a sheet on a pattern of protruding knobs added after casting. The glass was fitted in diamond- or half diamond- shaped plaques of nine or six beads in hollow reserves between the gold bosses. Silver volutes decorate the dark brown bronze surface inlaid with green malachite. The slightly domed cover is surmounted by four animals in the round.
The use of glass, recently introduced in China, is extremely rare. The only other example from the same period of a bronze vessel inlaid with glass is a pair of hu discovered around 1930, known from photographs of the time.
Each glass bead has the shape of an eye, in a concentric polychromy. This design, which perhaps had magical significance, was produced for a very short period of time. Examples were found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of the principality of Zeng in Hubei, dated 433 BCE.
The sale of the fang hu, which had not been seen since 1938, allows a real rediscovery by the experts of the opulence reached in the time of the Warring States by the ritual bronzes of classical form.
The wording Warring States wrongly evokes anarchy. This period instead opened up China to new life styles through the development of Confucianism and Taoism. The traditional sacrificial or funeral rites persist while taking into account the observation of nature and medicine. The taotie, which expressed the mystery of the spirits, disappear from the bronze vessels.
The technological evolution of bronze becomes multidisciplinary. In very thick walls, deep grooves are filled with precious materials that bring the colors : gold, silver, copper, malachite, turquoise. Bronze handles and zoomorphic elements are added.
The baluster-shaped hu is the most common vessel at that time for the ritual use of wine. On September 23, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M a 35 cm high covered fang hu, lot 578. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Fang means that the bottle has a square section. It is richly decorated with gold, silver and glass.
The gold was encrusted by hammering a sheet on a pattern of protruding knobs added after casting. The glass was fitted in diamond- or half diamond- shaped plaques of nine or six beads in hollow reserves between the gold bosses. Silver volutes decorate the dark brown bronze surface inlaid with green malachite. The slightly domed cover is surmounted by four animals in the round.
The use of glass, recently introduced in China, is extremely rare. The only other example from the same period of a bronze vessel inlaid with glass is a pair of hu discovered around 1930, known from photographs of the time.
Each glass bead has the shape of an eye, in a concentric polychromy. This design, which perhaps had magical significance, was produced for a very short period of time. Examples were found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of the principality of Zeng in Hubei, dated 433 BCE.
The sale of the fang hu, which had not been seen since 1938, allows a real rediscovery by the experts of the opulence reached in the time of the Warring States by the ritual bronzes of classical form.
