Late Shang Dynasty |The vessel of slender waisted form, finely cast around the mid-section with pairs of taotie masks with raised eyes divided by notched flanges, above a pair of bowstrings interrupted by two cross-shaped apertures, the splayed foot similarly decorated, the tall flared neck with four upright triangular blades rising from a band of spirals, the surface with areas of malachite encrustation. 27.8cm (11in) high|商末 青銅饕餮紋觚Provenance: a Dutch private collectionA European private collection來源： 荷蘭私人舊藏歐洲私人收藏A similar gu, late Shang dynasty, excavated in Anyang, Henan, is illustrated by Li Jianwei and Niu Ruihong, Zhongguo Qingtong ji tulu, vol.I, Beijing, 2005, p.118; another related example, Shang dynasty, unearthed in Yanchuan county, Shaanxi, is illustrated in Bronzes from Northern Shaanxi, vol.II, Chengdu, 2009, p.155. A similar ritual bronze wine vessel, gu, late Shang dynasty, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 March 2014, lot 6.