Lot
3, the Zuo Bao Yi Gui, ritual food vessel, bronze, Early Western Zhou
Dynasty, 11th-10th Century B.C., 9 7/8 inches high
The
highlight of the "magnificent" ritual bronzes auction from the
collection of Julius Eberhardt at Sotheby's New York September 17, 2013
is Lot 3, the Zuo Bao Yi Gui, a bronze ritual food vessel from the
Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th-10th Century B.C. It is 9
7/8
inches high. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $6,661,000
including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this
article.
All 10 offered lots sold
for a total of $16,786,000, almost four times the low estimate.
Dr.
Wang Tao, head of Chinese Works ofArt at Sotheby's,
New
York, said "we are thrilled to have opened our week of Asian
Art
sales with the tremendous success of the $16.8 million White Glove
Eberhardt auction." "Collectors from around the world were
drawn
to this collection of just ten masterpieces which all sold to total
nearly $17 million. Together, they represent the most
important
gorup of Chinese archaic bronzes to have appeared at auction since the
Albright-Knox sale at Sotheby's in 2007 and have taken their place as
one of the landmark auctions in the field," he said.
Lot
6, Tripod pouring vessel with cover (Liu Ding), Early Spring and Autumn
Period, 8th-7th Century B.C., 4 7/8 inches long
Lot
6 is an excellent tripod pourting vessel with cover (Liu Ding) from the
Early Spring and Autumn Period, 8th-7th Century B.C. It is 4
7/8 inches long. It was formerly in the collections of Walter
Hochstadter and J. J. Lally & Co. The catalogue entry
states that it "belongs to the category of nongqi (playful vessels),
which were made for the personal enjoyment of high-ranking aristocrats.
It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $1,325,000.
Lot
5, the Mu Xin Zun, wine vessel, Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th-10th
Century B.C., 10 inches high
Lot
5 is the Mu Xin Zun, a "superb and very rare" bronze wine vessel from
the Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th-10th Century B.C. It is
10
inches high and of cylindrical form with four notched flanges down the
sides and elegantly cast with taotie masks on the foot flanked by
dragons and a middle section of confronted birds with curled crests,
beaks and tails all below the flaring neck with a collar band of curly
dragons and four upright blades. The catalogue notes there is
only one similar vessel that is in the collection of the Cleveland
Museum of Art. The lot was once in the collection of Pan
Zuyin,
T.Y King of Shanghai, H. E. Alexandre J. Agryropoulos and J. J. Lally
& Co., New York. The lot has an estimate of $400,000
to
$600,000. It
sold for $2,165,000.
Lot
7, The Fu Bing Jue, pair of bronze wine cups, Early Western Zhou
Dynasty, 11th-10th Century B.C., 7 1/8 and 7 1/4 inches high
Lot
7 is an "extremely rare and very fine" pair of bronze wine
cups, known as the Fu Bing Jue, from the Early Western Zhou Dynasty,
11th-10th Century B.C. They are 7 1/8 and 7 1/4 inches high.
They were formerly with Chen Rentao, T. Y. King of Hong Kong,
H. E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos and J. J. Lally & Co.
The catalogue entry maintains that their "baroque" silhouette
appears to be virtually unparalleled in this type. The lot has an
estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It
sold for $1,445,000.
Lot
2, wine cup, bronze, jue, Late Shang Dynasty, 12th-11th Century B.C.,
10 inches high
Lot
2 is a Late Shang Dynasty, 12th-11th Century B.C., bronze wine cup
(jue). It is 10 inches high and has taotie masks cast on each
side in high relief with rounded eyes, angular horns and slim bodies
and the loop handle on one side issues from a bovine head. It
was
formerly in the collections of T. Y. King of Shanghai, H. E. Alexandre
J. Argyropoulos and J. J. Lally & Co., New York. It
has an
estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It
sold for $425,000.
Lot
10, Taotie mask, bronze, Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th-10th Century
B.C., 9 inches wide
Lot
10 is a fine bronze taotie mask from the Early Western Zhou Dynasty,
11th-10th Century B.C. It is 9 inches wide. The catalogue
nlotes
that "recent scholarship suggests that this type of taotie mask was
used as a decorative frontlet mounted on the forehead of a chariot
horse possibly to demonstrate the magical power of the rider."
It
also states that an almost identical mask is in the collection of the
Honolulu Academy of Arts. It has an estimate of $80,000 to
$100,000. It
sold for $341,000.
Lot
4, fitting, bronze, mao, Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th-10th Century
B.D., 2 7/8 inches high
Lot
5 is a fine Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th-10th Century B.C., bronze
fitting, mao, that is 2 7/8 inches high. The domed top is
cast
with a whorl pattern of feathers with two birds' eyes suggesting a
stylized bird motif and the sides finely cast with two confronted
birds. The object's diamond-shaped punctures originally with
inlays are now all covered with dark silver patina and malachite
encrustation. The object has an impressive provenance and was
once in the collections of Bernard Berenson, the legendary art
historian of Italian Renaissance paintings, Adolphe Stoclet,
Brussels, a famous art collector, Eskenazi Ltd., of London,
The
British Rail Pension Fund, and the Sze Yuan Tang Collection.
It
was sold at Christie's New York September 16, 2010. It has an
estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It sold for $437,000.
Lot 8, Zuo Ce HuanYou, wine vessel, bronze, Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 10th Century B.C., 9 5/8 inches high
Lot
8 is the Zuo Ce Huan You, an important bronze wine vessel from the
Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 10th Century. It is 9 5/8 inches
high. It was formerly wioth Wu Shifen, Pan Zuyin, T. Y. King,
H. E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos and J. J. Lally & Co.
The catalogue entry notes that "differing from the Western
collectors' usual taste for form and ornamentation, the traditional
Chinese collectors of archaic bronzes are primarily drawn to
inscriptions cast onto the bronze vessels. It has an estimate of
$200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $3,077,000.
