COLLECTION NAME:
National Palace English
Record
Work ID:
M01B00039
Title:
Bronze Gu vessel with animal mask motif
Creation Date:
Late Shang Dynasty
Start Year Date:
B.C.1321
End Year Date:
B.C.1045
Dynasty:
05 Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 ~1100 B.C.)
Creation Place:
China
Measurements:
Height: 32 cm; Weight: 1175g
Material:
Bronze
Form:
Gu (wine vessel)
Type:
Bronzes
Repository:
The National Palace Museum, Taipei
Description:
he slender neck of this gu is decorated with banana-leaf patterns; across the center of its belly is the horizontal snake pattern, and the rest of its belly and feet are covered with various animal mask motifs with protruding flanges. The round foot is covered with horizontal tiger patterns. The whole vessel is decorated with at least four different animal motifs.Two cross-shaped patterns mark the division between the belly and the round foot. This is a rare phenomenon because in most cases patterns actually penetrate through the vessel and make cross-shaped openings. This resulted from the use of thinner padding during the casting process. If the paddings are thicker than the thickness of the vessel, cross-shaped openings are formed. Above the openings is the belly of the vessel that can still hold ceremonial wines; beneath the openings is the round foot, which obviously could not be used up side down. Therefore, the cross-shaped openings are decorative; instead, they are traces of an old casting technique.
ImageV ID:
M01B00039AS001
Rights:
Lee & Lee Communications