口徑：15.5厘米×13.5厘米 （6 1⁄8×5 1⁄4 吋） 底徑：16.5厘米×12.4厘米 （6 1⁄2×4 7⁄8 吋） 通高：47厘米 （18 1⁄2 吋）Diam. at mouth：15.5×13.5 cm （6 1⁄8×5 1⁄4 in.） Diam. at base：16.5×12.4 cm （6 1⁄2×4 7⁄8 in.） Overall height： 47 cm （18 1⁄2 in.）

Literature：
China Guardian， Chinese Bronzes in the Collection of Zhu’s Jiu Ru Yuan， 2016， p.14
Shanghai Museum， The Legacy of Chu Chong-yee： Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Jiu Ru Yuan Collection， Shanghai， Shanghai Cishu Press， 2017 ， no. 14
Provenance：
Collection of Chu’s Jiu Ru Yuan，acquired in the 1980s， Hong Kong

Exhibited：
Chinese Bronzes in the Collection of Zhu’s Jiu Ru Yuan， 28th-31st May 2016， Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Fitted with a lid， this wine vessel has a straight neck， round shoulders， tapering belly and flared ring foot. On the shoulders are loop ears in the form of an animal head flanked by two suns with whorls. Bordered by three raised bow strings above and two below， the shoulders are decorated with double-ramhorned animal heads flanked by two suns in low relief. The sides of the neck and foot are decorated with an animal mask of double kui-dragons that has the central ridge for a nose. The belly is undecorated and well defined by the crisp edges. The cover is in the form of a rooftop， which echoes with the rooftopknob that crowns it. Otherwise as plain as the belly， the cover bears three suns in low relief on each of its sides.

A similar example， only less elaborately decorated and about half the size， has recently been acquired by the Hunan Provincial Museum. Like this king of lei-jars， which carries related inscriptions of different lengths on the inside of its body and cover， the present lot bears a three-character inscription on the interior of the rim and a four-character one on that of the cover. Considering the fact that the wording of the two inscriptions on the same vessel is identical except for some omitted or added characters in both instances， it is probable that it was a Shang practice to omit the name of either the state or the clan of the owner in either the cover or the body. In other words， if the character “Shan” on the rim of the present lot is assumed to be the clan name， the characters “Tian” and “Mian” on the cover are likely to make up the name of the state.

The shape of the square lei-jar first appeared in mid Shang and became popular between late Shang and early Western Zhou， with most examples dating from the late Shang. Based on the dignified form， simple design and the ramhorned animal heads， suns and animal masks of double kui-dragons， which are typical of the period， the present lot is dated to the late Shang.

Among the many extant bronzes attributed to the Shan clan， all have been dated to the late Shang as exemplified by the zhi-globet inscribed with “fuding zhi” and the gu-globet inscribed with “Fuding gu” （Yinzhou Jinwen Jicheng， Beijing， 2007， vol. 5， nos. 6261， 7115， 7116 & 7117）. In the case of the present lot， “Fuyi” rather than “Fuding” is identified to be the individual from the Shan clan who commissioned the lei-jar. Reference can further be made to the ding-tripod and pan-bowl commissioned by “Fuding” in the collection of the Shouyang Studio （See Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Shouyang Studio： The Katherine and George Fan Collection， Shanghai， 2008， pp. 80， 81， 84 & 85）， which are also datable to the late Shang judging from the shape and decorations. Except for the identification， the style， sequence and arrangement of the characters are completely identical to the present lot. It is not surprising that bronzes with references to the Shan clan in their inscriptions have been found in Fufeng and Chang’an in Shaanxi， where members of the clan were possibly active after the conquest of Shang by the Zhou.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,200,000 - 1,800,000
USD: 155,100 - 233,000

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,416,000