A VERY RARE AND MASSIVE PAIR OF BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSELS AND COVERS, DINGSpring and Autumn PeriodEach heavily and robustly cast, the semi-spherical vessel raised on three tall cabriole legs issuing from a mythical beast head, intricately cast with two rows of dense interlocking dragon scrolls, separated by a raised rope-twist band, all above a frieze of pendent lappets, the rim evenly applied with three ox-form knobs, the cover similarly decorated surmounted by a disc-form knob in openwork.Each 54cm (21 1/4) diam. x 44cm (17 3/8in) high (4).Provenance: 春秋 青銅蟠蛇紋獸足大鼎一對Provenance:A Japanese private collection, SwitzerlandWong & Sons Art Gallery, New York, 8 July 2001 (Receipt)An Asian private collection來源：日本私人舊藏，瑞士2001年7月8日購於紐約Wong & Songs Gallery (收據）亞洲私人收藏Ritual bronze vessels such as the present lot were among the most highly prized and technically sophisticated objects manufactured in early China. Reserved for use by the most powerful families of the time, they carried the offerings presented to the ancestors during the performance of elaborate rituals.The present lot is impressive for its large size and it is unusual to see examples with a cover.pare a Spring and Autumn Period bronze ding and cover of similar proportions but flanked by a pair of more outward flaring handles, in the Nanjing Museum, with related bands of flat-cast decoration, illustrated in Zhongguo chutu qingtongqi quanji, vol.7, Beijing, 2017, no.107; see also a smaller (33.2cm high) and related mid Spring and Autumn period bronze ding withparable form and abstract interlaced dragon decoration, in the Henan Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol.7, Beijing, 1996, no.19; see another example of a late Spring and Autumn Period bronze ding in Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, ibid., vol.8, no.21; such type of bronze ding surmounted by a disc-form knob in openwork was made also in the succeeding Warring States Period, see an example in Hebei Provincial Institute of Archaeology, illustrated in ibid., vol.9, no.95.圓鼎覆盆式蓋，蓋頂有環鈕，可卻置，蓋面飾三圈繩紋突起，繩紋之間飾交龍紋，子母口，雙耳直沖，深鼓腹，腹身飾兩圈突起繩紋，其間填以蟠蛇紋，下圈繩紋之下飾蕉葉紋一周，下承三獸足。類似於本拍品的青銅禮器在鑄造工藝上顯示出高超的技術水平和高度嚴密的組織性，在中國古代備受青睞。此等青銅器代表著至高無上的權利，為貴族身份等級的重要標誌，用以各種禮儀活動，目的是祈求或借助百神和列祖列宗來庇護貴族的利益和特權，進而維護「世代相續」的統治權力。此對鼎體量巨大，且存有蓋者並不多見，可比較南京博物院藏一件春秋圓鼎，十分相似，惟雙耳...