'Xi Jia' Pan (823 B.C. China): Ancient Bronze Plate Breaks Auction Record
HANGZHOU, China, July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A few days ago, an eye-catching bronze 'Xi Jia' Pan (823 B.C.) was sold at Xiling Yinshe Auction (www.xlysauc.com) with a remarkable price of RMB 212.75 million ($31.5 million, commission included), setting a new record for Chinese works of art in China.
'Xi Jia' Pan, with as many as 133 characters of inscription, is the only existing bronze from the Western Zhou Dynasty collected by the royal family of Southern Song Dynasty. Wang Guowei, a famous modern Chinese scholar, held it of greater importance than 'Mao Gong' Ding (Duke Mao Tripod), which is treasured in the "National Palace Museum" in Taipei. According to Wang, 'Xi Jia' Pan's original owner Yin Jifu was not only a great politician and military strategist, but also the collector and compiler of Shijing (Book of Songs), China's earliest collection of Chinese poetry.
The inscriptions which record Yin Jifu's participation in wars and land management as well as border trade with the minorities are significant in providing information for the study of China's official ranking system, war, imperial award, taxation, slavery, trade and governance in ancient times.
The auction was held in Hangzhou. Eight hundred years ago, it was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. Now, it has evolved into the host city of G20 Summit in 2016 and an emerging center for art works circulation in China.
Since the Southern Song Dynasty, there have been hundreds of essays and books focusing on 'Xi Jia' Pan by scholars of different periods. First as a part of the imperial collection of the Southern Song Dynasty, 'Xi Jia' Pan then fell into the hands of Xianyu Shu, an artist of Yuan Dynasty living in Hangzhou. By then, its feet had been broken and the plate was descended to a cooking vessel.
As the seller of 'Xi Jia' Pan, Xiling Yinshe Auction inherits the philosophy of Xiling Yinshe, the first academic institution of seal arts situated in Hangzhou which specializes in seal-related learnings and arts and enjoys great reputation both at home and abroad.
For consecutive years, Xiling Yinshe Auction has ranked first in its sale-through rate as a star in China's auction market. In 2014, Xiling Yinshe Auction presented China's First Ritual Bronze Wares Sale. One year later, China's First Sale of 19th-20th Century Western Master Paintings was introduced to the market, bringing in marvelous paintings by Monet, Gauguin, Warhol, Renoir, Morandi, Ingres, Rousseau, etc.
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