London – They say fine wine improves with age, but 3,000 years may be pushing it a little.
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Although it certainly isn’t hurting the value of two ancient bottles which have been valued at a staggering £2million.
The Chinese bronze containers of the aging tipple were acquired by two Jewish brothers who fled Poland at the start of World War Two, with one of them seeking sanctuary in Shanghai.
They have since been passed down to the granddaughter of one of the men, known only as Mr J Goldstein.
She has now made them available for sale at auction in London, a move that has stunned the art world as their existance has been largely unknown of because they have been in the family’s private collection for decades.
They are being tipped to sell for a whopping £1million and £800,000 respectively. One of them, a rectangular fangyi vessel, dates back to the Chinese Shang dynasty between 1300 to 1050BC
It is exquisitely decorated, indicating it was a special object associated with the ruling class of the society and experts have described the quality as ‘quite exceptional’.
It has an inscription on it that is translated into ‘Prince Shu is at Zhi to make a sacrificial vessel for the cultured ancestor Father Yi’.
An identical inscription is cast on a jue goblet at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco which would suggest the two pieces once formed part of the same set that was unearthed before 1850.
The second bronze vessel dates back to the early Western Zhou dynasty between 1050 to 900BCE.
It features masks, dragons and a rim of silkworms, horned mythical beasts and birds.
It is thought this had been taken out of China in the 1920s or 1930s by western missionary families.
They were bought in Canada, where the family lives, and are both being sold by auctioneers Bonhams.
Asaph Hyman, senior specialist in Chinese art at Bonhams, said: ‘These two remarkable bronze pieces were among those collected by Mr J. Goldstein who emigrated in the from Poland to Canada.
how could we verify that its so old?
For Arba Kosos?
You couldn’t even use it for vinegar at this point. No where near worth the price they are asking for it.
Also, the story sounds very fishy. I am not convinved they are genuine.
I bet some of the Poles that looted the Yidden’s property during WWII are upset that they didn’t find this treasure.
“Prince Shu is at Zhi to make a sacrificial vessel for the cultured ancestor Father Y” sounds like real nesech.
Yayan Nesach
this is pure yayin nesech – un avodah zarah
Whats worth so much money, is it the bottle or the contents?
yayin nesech….
Yayin Nesach is ossur behanoah – sorry.
Typical media story. There is some encrustation of dry wine left, but there is no actual wine in these things. One doesn’t even have a cover.