Late Shang dynasty, 13th - 11th century BCE
Height 10¼ in., 26 cm
The deep rounded body supported on three cylindrical legs, the lipped rim with two large upright loop handles, the body cast with three large taotie masks with bulging eyes intersected by vertical flanges, all against a fine leiwen ground, below a band of six serpents interspersed with whorl-roundels in relief, the legs with scrolls and pendent cicadas all in intaglio, the interior cast on the side with a six-character inscription, the vessel with an attractive olive patina with areas of malachite encrustation.
Provenance
Collection of David A. Berg (1904-1999).
Collection of Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, received as a bequest from the above.
Christie's New York, 21st September 2000, lot 160.
Weisbrod Chinese Art, New York
Sotheby's London, 19th June 2002, lot 73.
Asian Private Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 17th March 2015, lot 107.