Inspection off.
Move the pointer across the plate for a magnified crop, as you would run a loupe over the surface in the viewing room. Using a keyboard, step between the named details instead.
Further plates
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Macro detail, raking light. -
Detail.
Chinese
In the archaic manner
An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel
Cast bronze with a malachite and cuprite encrustation
Height 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm)
Bidding on lot 34
Bidding has not opened
$25,000 – 40,000
- Opens
- Sun, Sep 13, 2:00 PM EDT
- Closes
- Sun, Sep 13, 3:30 PM EDT
- Starting price
- $18,000
- Opening increment
- $1,000
There is no bid control on this lot because it is not open. When bidding opens, the next admissible bid will be $18,000, and the ladder will step by $1,000 at that level.
Before the sale
- Request the full condition report from the department.
- View the lot in person; the viewing dates are printed on the sale page.
- Leave an absentee bid, or book a telephone line, at least 24 hours in advance.
Demonstration site. Hammer & Co is a fictional auction house; every lot, estimate, bid, result and provenance chain on this site is invented for the purpose of showing the design. No bid placed here is a real bid and nothing here is offered for sale.
Catalogue note
Cast with a taotie mask in relief between vertical flanges, the encrustation heavy and undisturbed in the recesses. The department has examined the casting seams and the patina and offers the vessel in the archaic manner, without a dynastic attribution.
Condition report
As found Reported by Wen Hu on August 31, 2026
Heavy malachite and cuprite encrustation, undisturbed. Two small stable perforations to the lower body where the metal has been eaten through, visible internally. One flange with an old loss. Not cleaned; the house does not clean bronzes of this kind and would counsel a buyer against it.
A condition report is an opinion, honestly held, given as a courtesy and not a warranty. It is not a substitute for examining the lot yourself, and the absence of a reference to a defect does not imply that the lot is free from it. Every lot is sold as is.
Provenance
- before 1962 European private collection, acquired in Paris.
- 1988 Sold, New York; acquired by the present owner.
Every provenance chain on this demonstration site is invented. No real collection, sale or ownership history is described.
The bidding ladder
Bids step by a published ladder, not a percentage. At $18,000 the step is $1,000, so the next admissible bid is $18,000. The auctioneer may vary the increment at their discretion.
| Bid at | Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 – $199 | $10 |
| $200 – $499 | $25 |
| $500 – $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 – $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 – $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 – $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 – $19,999 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 – $49,999 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 – $99,999 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 – $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 – $499,999 | $20,000 |
| $500,000 – $999,999 | $50,000 |
| $1,000,000 and above | $100,000 |
