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Expert’s note
The taotie masks enveloping the present vessel fuse the features of animals and birds into composite beings seemingly caught in continuous metamorphosis, embodying the extraordinary imaginative power of the finest late Shang and early Western Zhou bronzes. Here, the subtle lobing of the body and precise alignment of the principal masks with the three legs lend this visionary imagery remarkable sculptural clarity, while the bulging eyes, sweeping horns, and densely incised scrollwork remain exceptionally crisp. This masterful union of form and ornament, together with the vessel’s outstanding state of preservation, places it among the most distinguished surviving ritual bronzes of its type.
China, 12th-11th century BC. Masterfully cast, the subtly lobed pear-shaped body rising from three slender legs through a gently tapering neck, set with a straight, upward-angled spout and a curved handle issuing from the mouth of a stylized dragon head, to a broad circular mouth with a slightly everted rim, fitted with a slightly domed cover surmounted by two loop lugs. Each leg is centered by a large bovine-like ‘taotie’ mask, defined by prominent bulging eyes beneath long horns and reserved against a ground of large ‘leiwen’ motifs, themselves embellished with crisply incised scrollwork. Above, an encircling band is decorated with further stylized masks with raised eyes set amid similar scrolling motifs, which continue onto the cover.
Provenance: J. T. Tai & Co., New York, by 1983. Christian Deydier, London, acquired from the above. A private collection in Paris, France, acquired from the above. A copy of the invoice from J. T. Tai & Co., dated 3 November 1983, addressed to Christian Deydier, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of USD 80,000 or approx. EUR 227,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies the lot. J. T. Tai (Tai Jun Tsei, 1911-1992), born Dai Fubao and known in Chinese as Dai Runzhai, was one of the foremost dealers in Chinese art during the second half of the 20th century. His influence has been ranked by the Smithsonian Institution second only to that of C. T. Loo in shaping the understanding and appreciation of Chinese art among Western collectors, scholars, and museums. Tai began his career at his uncle’s antique shop in Wuxi before establishing his own gallery, Fuyuanzhai Guwandian, in Shanghai. After leaving China for Hong Kong in 1949, he settled in New York the following year and opened J. T. Tai & Company on Madison Avenue, where his gallery became a magnet for leading collectors of Chinese ceramics, archaic bronzes, jades, and works of art. Renowned for his discerning eye and determination to acquire only works of the highest quality, Tai was instrumental in forming several of America’s greatest collections of Chinese art. Numerous masterpieces that passed through his hands subsequently entered such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Freer Gallery of Art, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Through these collections, Tai exerted a profound and lasting influence on the study, collecting, and public appreciation of Chinese art in America and Europe. Christian Deydier is an internationally respected scholar, author, and dealer specializing in early Chinese art, particularly archaic bronzes. He holds a degree in Chinese language and civilization from the University of Paris and pursued advanced studies in Chinese archaeology at Tai Ta University in Taipei, where he focused on jiaguwen, the earliest known form of Chinese writing from the Shang dynasty. At the age of twenty-six, he published his first major scholarly work with the école Fran?aise d’Extrême-Orient, followed in 1980 by Les Bronzes Chinoises, the first comprehensive synthesis devoted to Chinese bronzes. Appointed an expert at the H?tel Drouot, he went on to establish Oriental Bronzes Ltd, first in London in 1987 and subsequently in Paris, a gallery that evolved into today’s Galerie Christian Deydier, internationally recognized for its exceptional selection of archaic Chinese bronzes as well as its exhibitions and presentations shown at major venues and art fairs in Paris, Brussels, Hong Kong, and New York. Through his scholarship, gallery program, and publications, Deydier has made a lasting contribution to the academic study and connoisseurly appreciation of ancient Chinese art.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age, and presenting extraordinary well, with much of the intricate incised decoration remaining remarkably sharp and crisp, something that is exceedingly rare among vessels of this type. Expected wear, casting irregularities, traces of weathering, corrosion, few small losses, surface scratches. The bronze with a superb, naturally grown, dark patina with areas of malachite and cuprite encrustation.
Weight: 1.8 kg
Dimensions: Height 24.4 cm (incl. cover)
The tripod he is among the earliest forms in the Chinese ritual bronze repertory. Its ancestry reaches back to pottery prototypes of the Erlitou culture, while bronze examples appeared during the Erligang period, as illustrated by Robert W. Bagley, Ancient Chinese Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. 1, 1987, p. 67, no. 9 (fig. 1), and p. 71, no. 23 (fig. 2). These early vessels already establish the type’s defining features: three mammiform legs, a strap handle, a diagonally rising spout, and an integral domed top with an opening above the handle. By the late Shang dynasty, the form could assume a far more monumental and ornate character, as demonstrated by the two bronze fang he excavated at Xibeigang, Anyang, now in the Nezu Museum, Tokyo, illustrated ibid., p. 104, no. 129 (fig. 3). Their dense, high-relief ornamentation contrasts sharply with the structural clarity and disciplined surface treatment of the present vessel.
Dating from the transition between the late Shang and early Western Zhou dynasties, the present he embodies a refined transformation of this ancient form. The integral top has evolved into a separately cast, fitted cover, the spout rises cleanly from the shoulder, and the three attenuated legs lend the pear-shaped body a poised and elegant silhouette. The ornament is fully integrated with the vessel’s architecture: the principal taotie masks are aligned with the lobes and legs, while the low-relief and incised scrollwork follows and accentuates its swelling contours. The he held water used to dilute wine and was therefore classed among wine vessels, forming part of the sumptuous bronze assemblages employed in ancestral rites. Here, ritual function and technical ingenuity are resolved with exceptional formal balance.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bronze he, dated late 11th century BC, 28.6 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 24.72.5a, b. Compare a closely related bronze he, dated 11th century BC, unearthed from Waliu Site in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, now in the Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Compare a closely related bronze he, dated 14th-11th century BC, 30 cm high, in the Harvard Art Museum, object number 1943.52.119.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 September 2004, lot 149
Price: USD 321,100 or approx. EUR 489,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare bronze ritual tripod wine vessel and cover, he, late Shang dynasty, 12th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, modeling, and manner of casting, with analogous ‘taotie’ decoration, interspersed with scrolling motifs, and dragon-shaped handle. Note the size (31.7 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24 March 2023, lot 1103
Price: USD 302,400 or approx. EUR 290,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze ritual wine vessel, he, early Western Zhou dynasty, 11th-10th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the related form and manner of casting. Note the absence of incised decoration and the size (21 cm).
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