A BRONZE POURING VESSEL, YI, LATE SONG – EARLY... Lot n° 615

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. 由于Drouot平台拍品叙述的长度限制，我们移除了中文叙述，完整中文叙述请至www.zacke.at查看