Tripod Wine Vessel (jia) with Design of Zoomorphic Masks and Animal-Headed Handle

The perfection of late Shang bronzes is epitomized in the refined proportions and scale of this stately ritual wine-warming vessel. Its elegantly restrained decoration is carried out in the two narrow bands of miniature line-and-ribbon motifs, a fine animal-headed handle of modest size, and simple, parallel lines that echo the three noble arches between the legs. The body’s comely outline is so smooth and well modeled that the vessel has a remarkable swelling quality. The beautiful dedicatory inscription of twenty-seven characters cast on the vessel under the curve of the handle speaks of the favor bestowed by the Shang king upon a loyal officer and the royal reward by which the official commissioned the making of this vessel in honor of his revered ancestor.