The Ce Gao Ding JueLate Shang dynasty商末 冊告丁爵cast beneath the handle with a three-character inscription reading Ce Gao Ding銘文：冊告丁Height 8½ in., 21.6 cm来源: DescriptionThe Ce GaoDing JueLate Shang dynasty商末 冊告丁爵cast beneath the handle with a three-character inscription reading Ce GaoDing銘文：冊告丁Height 8½ in., 21.6 cmCondition reportBecause this lot was imported into the United States after September 1, 2020, it is subject to an import tariff of 7.5% of the value declared upon entry into the United States. $3,000, plus applicable sales tax will be included on your invoice unless you instruct Sotheby's to arrange shipping of the lot to a foreign address. For more information on the import tariff, please review the Symbol Key in the back of the catalogue. If you have any questions, please contacttariffs@sothebys.com.由於本拍品在 2020年9月1日之後進口到美國，所以買家可能需就本拍品支付進口關稅，金額為拍品進口美國當時申報價值的7.5％。除非您要求蘇富比安排運送拍品到美國境外之地址，否則發票上將包括3,000美元以及相關的銷售稅。如欲查詢進口關稅的更多信息，請查閱目錄背面的附錄。 如有任何疑問，敬請聯繫tariffs@sothebys.com。For more information on and additional videos for this lot, please contact serina.wei@sothebys.com.ProvenanceJapanese Private Collection.Christie's New York, 20th September 2005, lot 148.日本私人收藏紐約佳士得2005年9月20日，編號148Catalogue noteStriking for its powerful visual presencewith high-relief design and extremely crisp casting, the presentjueis anoutstandingexampleof ritualbronze vesselscreatedduringthe late Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It isa testament to the masterful craftsmanship of the bronzeartisansfrom the peak of China's bronze age.In ancient China, bronzejue were used to hold and warm wine in ritual ceremonies performed by nobility. A vessel as finely made as the present jue was undoubtedly reserved for some of the most prestigiousaristocrats at that time.This jue is cast with athree-character inscriptionreading Ce Gao Ding. Ding is likelythename of the owner who made this bronze.Ce Gaocould be the name of the clan, to which Ding belonged, or it could possibly be the official or hereditarytitle of Ding. Two other bronzes inscribed with the two-character inscription, Ce Gao, have been recorded. One is the well-known late Shang dynastybronze you from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, now in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C., published in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D.C., 1987, pl. 62. The other is a gui, excavated at Yinxu in 1994, illustrated in The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and AnyangMunicipalInstitute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, ed., Yinxu xinchutu qingtongqi [Recently excavated bronzes from Yinxu], Kunming, 2008, pl. 96.A remarkable feature on this jue is the decorationof the upright lappets enclosingpendent cicadas, which isa rare designfor vessels of this type.Compare a related late Shang dynasty bronze jue with a similar design,in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji[Complete series on Chinese bronzes], vol. 3, Beijing, 1997, pl. 21. See also a few examples sold at auction,such astwobronze jue sold in these rooms, one on 22nd September 2004,lot 101, the other on 4th December 1985, lot 25; and a third, sold in our London rooms, 7th April 1981, lot 74.