AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL, LI DING, POSSIBLY SHANG DYNASTYChina, 1600-1046 BC or later. Supported on three slender flanged legs, the body with three shallow lobes, each decorated in relief with a taotie mask with large raised eyes, curled horns and intaglio details, on a ground of leiwen inlaid and flanked by descending beaked dragons, the everted rim set with two upright loop handles.Provenance: Collection of Vaclav Kopecky, acquired in China in 1952 and thence by descent in the same family. Vaclav Kopecky (1897-1961) was a Czechoslovak politician. He served as the Minister of Culture and Information as well as Deputy Prime Minister in the postwar Czechoslovak government. In 1952, he led a government-sponsored delegation to China and upon his return to Prague, he took the present lot with him.Condition: Fine dark patina with natural malachite-green encrustation. Old wear, traces of use, losses, old fillings and repairs.Weight: 1,110 gDimensions: Height 15.7 cm, Width 13.5 cmLiterature comparison: Compare a li ding of similar size and decoration, illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, pp. 486-489, cat. no. 93.Auction result comparison: Compare with a related li ding of only slightly larger size (18.7 cm high, 16.5 cm wide) at Sotheby's New York in Informing the Eye of the Collector: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art from J.T. Tai & Co. on 22 March 2011, lot 8, sold for USD 278,500.青銅饕餮紋鬲鼎,可能是商代 中國,公元前1600-1046 年或以後。 鑄三條柱足,各足頂上鼓腹,深腹圓鼓,腹部飾饕餮紋,大橢圓目,獸角狀眼眉,雷紋地,立耳高聳。來源:Vaclav Kopecky收藏,1952年購於中國,自此保存在同一家族至今 。Vaclav Kopecky (1897-1961) 曾是捷克斯洛伐克的政治人物。 他曾任戰後捷克斯洛伐克政府文化和新聞部長以及副總理。 1952年,他率領一個政府贊助的代表團訪問中國,回到布拉格後,他隨身帶了很多禮物。 圖片:Vaclav Kopecky (1897-1961) 1955年在東德 品相:暗色包漿,天然孔雀石綠色結殼。舊磨損,使用痕跡,缺失,舊時填料和維修。重量:1,110 克 尺寸:高15.7 厘米, 寬13.5 厘米文獻比較: 比較一個相似尺寸和裝飾的鬲鼎,見Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, pp. 486-489, cat. no. 93. 拍賣結果比較:一件相似但較大尺寸(18.7厘米高,16.5厘米寬)的鬲鼎,售于紐約蘇富比 Informing the Eye of the Collector: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art from J.T. Tai & Co. 拍場2011年3月22日,lot 8,售價USD 278,500。