A Chinese inscribed archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, 'zhi', late Shang dynasty

H.: 12 cm

Inscribed on the base inside the vessel '..父丁', the first two characters illegible.

The brownish patina (蜡茶色) on this vessel is rare. It is considered as the most desirable colour on archaic bronzes, by scholars of the Ming and Qing dynasties. For example, Ming scholar Gao Lian (高濂) in his book 遵生八笺, 卷十四, where he ranks the brownish patina the best among all archaic bronze colours, followed by silver or black, then green, etc.  (…故古铜以褐色为上，水银黑漆鼎彝次之，青绿者又次之，…).

Ref.: Sotheby's, New York, Sep. 21, 2022, lot 256, for an earlier example. (link)

Condition: (UV-checked)
- Generally in very good condition, with some normal wear and nice patination.
- Some minor casting holes througout.
- A superficial dent to the lower part due to a bump.

品相报告：（已用紫外线光检查）
- 整体品相非常良好，正常磨损，包浆浑厚。
- 多处因为铸造失误造成的小凹孔。
- 肚子下侧一个小凹陷，可能由于碰撞导致。