A BRONZE POURING VESSEL, YI, LATE SONG – EARLY MING DYNASTY
China, 12th-15th century. The deep rounded sides supported on four feet cast with archaistic scroll, the gently rising spout extending to a narrow U-shaped mouth, the handle in the form of a two-horned dragon with spiked mane and coiled tail. The body carved to the side with three elegantly curved grooves below a leiwen band. The interior with a three-character inscription.


Inscriptions:
To the interior, ‘Zhai […]’.


Provenance
: Galerie M. Michel Beurdeley, Paris, France. Old French private collection, acquired from the above in the 1950s/1960s, and thence by descent in the same family. Established in 1817 by Jean Beurdeley (1771-1853) as a shop selling curiosities, Galerie Beurdeley rose to prominence under his grandson Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley (1847-1919) as the most important Chinese art gallery in Paris. After World War II, the gallery was run by Michel Beurdeley (1911-2012). In the early 1970s, his son Jean-Michel Beurdeley took over operations of the gallery for the next three decades before eventually moving to Thailand in 2001. Jean-Michel is a co-founder of MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai and sponsor of the Patsri Bunnag Foundation. He was honored with the French title Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2007 and promoted to Officier in 2018.

Condition:
Good condition with expected old wear, weathering, minor corrosion and casting irregularities. Tiny nicks, light scratches, small dents and fine cracks. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with distinct malachite and cuprite encrustations. Overall displaying exceptionally well.

Weight: 1,581 g
Dimensions: Width 28.5 cm


Bronze yi emerged as a ritual vessel
form
during the late Western Zhou period and continued in popularity until the Warring States period. The function of yi has been documented since the earliest stages of Chinese history. Yi were used together with water basins, pan, in ritual ceremonies to cleanse hands. It was stipulated in one of the ancient Chinese classics, the Book of Rites (Liji), that an elder would pour water from the yi for the ritual performers to wash their hands before proceeding with sacred rites, and the clan's junior member would concurrently carry a pan to collect the water. Yi had been a tangible symbol reflecting the ritual etiquette of royalty and the nobility during the Zhou dynasty.


Bronze yi, in addition to serving as water implements during ritual ceremonies
, also functioned as wine vessels in the Eastern Zhou dynasty. According to the inscription of the Spring and Autumn period Lu Da Si Tu Yuan Yi, discovered in Qufu county during the Republic period, currently preserved in the Shandong Museum, Jinan, the vessel is identified as a 'drinking vessel' (see Zhu Fenghan, Zhongguo qingtongqi zonglun [A Comprehensive Survey of Chinese Bronzes], vol. 1, Shanghai, 2009, p. 288).


Literature comparison:

Compare to a related archaic bronze yi of this from in the Palace Museum, illustrated in Bronzes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1999, p. 219, pl. 211. Compare a related pouring vessel (yi), dated 9th-8th century BC, in the Saint Louis Art Museum, object number 111:2014. For another prototype, see an archaic bronze ritual pouring vessel (yi), dated to the late Western Zhou dynasty, at Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 618.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Near Identical
Auction: Bonhams London, 6 November 2008, lot 311
Estimate: GBP 2,500 or approx.
EUR 4,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A finely cast archaistic bronze wine vessel, yi, Song dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form and decoration. Note the closely related size (29 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Near Identical
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 18 March 2014, lot 257
Estimate: USD 6,000 or approx.
EUR 7,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Bronze Pouring Vessel (Yi), Ming Dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form and decoration. Note that this Yi has severe condition issues, unlike the present lot.




宋末至明初青銅匜

中國，十二至十五世紀。器身如橢圓形瓢，前端寬流高高昂起，後端執鋬作蛟龍探水狀，匜的四獸足，曲體承載匜的器身,極其穩健。口沿下一周雲紋，之下三道弦紋。


款識:
匜内“齋 […]”


來源：
法國巴黎Michel Beurdeley藝廊；法國私人收藏，於 二十世紀五十年代/六十年代從上述藝廊購得，並同一家族傳承。Galerie Beurdeley 由Jean Beurdeley（1771-1853 年）於1817 年創立，最初是一家出售古玩的商店，在他的孫子Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley（1847-1919 年）的領導下逐漸聲名鵲起，成為巴黎最重要的中國藝術藝廊。 第二次世界大戰後，該藝廊由Michel Beurdeley（1911-2012年）經營。二十世紀七十年代初，他的兒子Jean-Michel Beurdeley 接手了藝廊長達三十年，最終於2001 年移居泰國。Jean-Michel 是清邁MAIIAM 當代美術館的聯合創始人，也是帕茨裡·邦納格基金會讚助商。他於2007年榮獲法國藝術與文學騎士勳章，並於2018年晉升為軍官。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損、風化、輕微腐蝕和鑄造不規則性，微小刻痕、輕微的劃痕、小凹痕和細裂紋。青銅有豐富的自然包漿，具有獨特的紅綠色結殼。

重量：1,581 克
尺寸：寬 28.5 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件相近的仿古青銅匜，收藏於北京故宮博物院，《Bronzes in the Palace Museum》，北京，1999年，頁219，圖211。比較一件相近的西元前九至八世紀青銅匜，收藏於聖路易斯藝術博物館，館藏編號111:2014。一件西周末青銅獸體紋龍鋬匜，見紐約蘇富比，2023年3月22日，lot 618。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：幾乎相同
拍賣：倫敦邦翰斯，2008年11月6日，lot 311
估價：GBP 2,500（相當於今日
EUR 4,000
）
描述：宋代仿古青銅匜
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的外形和裝飾。請注意非常相近尺寸(29 厘米)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：幾乎相同
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2014年3月18日，lot 257
估價：USD 6,000（相當於今日
EUR 7,000
）
描述：明銅竊曲紋龍鋬匜
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的外形和裝飾。請注意此匜品相不佳。