China: tripod bronze ritual vase of ding shape,... Lot 80

China: tripod bronze ritual vase of ding shape, used for cooking food. The body consists of a round bowl decorated with two vertical handles, in the shape of an inverted U, fixed on the lip of the vase. The three feet are cylindrical. The decoration of the bowl is composed of two parts. On the upper part, a horizontal frieze is decorated with bands of folded patterns called "eye pattern" separated from each other by a "swirling flame" pattern (symbol of the god of fire, one of the most important gods of ancient China). The body of the vessel is decorated with a series of cicadas, triangular in shape, arranged vertically. It is important to note that the cicada symbolizes not only the purity and high quality of the food contained in the ritual vessel and offered to the ancestors and spirits, but above all this insect was considered an intermediary between the world of the living and the afterlife. Bronze with dark patina. China, end of the Shang dynasty, circa 12th-11th centuries B.C. (wear and restorations at the lip, under a handle and at two feet) - H 24 Ø 20,5 cm. weight 2120g approximately Special thanks to Mr. Christian Deydier, eminent world specialist of Chinese archaic bronzes, for his precious help in the realization of this description.