AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, GU, LATE SHANG DYNASTY China, 12th century BC. Superb naturally grown patina with patches of malachite, azurite, and cuprite encrustation. The bronze body of typical anthracite color with its lustrous-metallic surface still visible below the patina. Provenance: Robert C. Eldred, August 1991. A notable old private collection in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, acquired from the above. Eldred's is the oldest continuously operating auction house in New England, founded in 1947 by Robert C. Eldred, Sr. In 1978, his son Robert C. Eldred, Jr. became President of the company, leading it for over three decades until his retirement in 2014. Condition: Condition overall fully commensurate with age, with extensive wear, weathering, encrustations, age cracks and corrosion. Slightly tilted. Ancient repair to rim with a segment of circa 2.5 x 4.5 cm reattached, the exact extent well visible on additional images provided on www.zacke.at. Weight: 939.0 g Dimensions: Height 26.2 cm (measured at the highest point of the rim) The tall vessel has a plain trumpet-shaped upper body, a mid-section cast with two taotie masks centered on narrow flanges and set between single and double bowstring borders, and a spreading foot with further taotie on a leiwen ground. Gu vessels were used as sacrificial wine receptacles and were among the most important objects used in rituals during the late Shang dynasty. Although reference to the name gu is frequently found in early ritual texts, it only became associated with the present vessel shape in the catalogs of antiquities produced by Song dynasty scholars. The shape appears to have originated in pottery production of the Neolithic period, which came in various sizes and shapes. The bronze version, however, probably emerged during the Erligang period (c.1510-1460 BC) and became popular during the Yinxu period (1250-1192 BC), when it was used as a main component of ritual vessel sets. Literature comparison: Similar archaic gu vessels, Shang dynasty, are illustrated by R. W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Cambridge MA, 1987, p. 216-227. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related gu, also dated to the 12th century BC, of only slightly larger size (29.5 cm high), at Christie's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 20 September 2013, lot 1472, sold for USD 105,750. 商代晚期饕餮紋觚 中國，公元前十二世紀。自然生長的包漿，帶有孔雀石綠、石青藍和銅紅色結殼。 典型的煤黑色青銅主體，其光澤金屬面仍可在包漿下隱隱可見。 來源：Robert C. Eldred拍賣行, 1991年8月。美國賓夕法尼亞州費城知名私人舊藏，購於上述收藏。Eldred's 是美國新英格蘭最古老的傳承運營的拍賣行，由老 Robert C. Eldred, Sr. 於 1947 年創立。1978 年，他的兒子 Robert C. Eldred, Jr. 成為該公司的總裁，領導該公司長達三十多年，直到2014 年他退休。 品相：整體狀況與年齡完全相稱，廣泛的磨損、風化、結殼、老化裂紋和腐蝕。 觚口向一面微微傾斜。 邊緣処有舊時修復復，重新連接了大約 2.5 x 4.5 厘米，確切的範圍在 www.zacke.at 上提供的附加圖片中可見。 重量：939.0 克 尺寸：高26.2 厘米 (觚口処最高點) 拍賣結果比較：一件相近的觚, 同樣來自公元前十二世紀，尺寸稍大 (高29.5 厘米), 紐約佳士得 Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art，2013年9月20日，lot 1472，售價USD 105,750。