Sotheby’s March 18th sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art in New York will feature archaic bronzes, Qing period jades, ceramics of the Five Dynasties to the Early Ming period, bamboo carvings and Ming and Qing dynasty porcelains and works of art from a number of distinguished private collections. Property from the sale, which is expected to bring $18/23 million, will be on view beginning March 13th. Highlighting the spring sale are two archaic bronzes led by an outstanding and extremely rare archaic bronze wine vessel, Fangyi, Western Zhou dynasty (, est. $3.8/4.5 million). The four-sided vessel is boldly cast on each side in raised relief with a central taotie animal-mask panel. Another smaller extremely rare archaic bronze wine vessel, Fangzun, Western Zhou dynasty, bears a similar four-sided form and taotie animal-masks but with a round neck and wide trumpet mouth, crisply cast with descending dragons on the neck and foot (pictured on page 2, top, est.
$2.8/3.5 million). The two vessels bear the same inscription and were cast in the same period for one patron and occasion.

Posted: 02|13|08 at 5:38 pm. Filed under: US News.