COLLECTION NAME:
National Palace English
Record
Work ID:
M01B00047
Title:
Bronze Gui vessel with double dragon motif
Creation Date:
Early Western Zhou Dynasty
Start Year Date:
B.C.1100
End Year Date:
B.C.950
Dynasty:
07 Western Zhou (c. 1100 ~771 B.C.)
Creation Place:
China
Measurements:
Height: 21.3 cm; Weight: 3965g
Material:
Bronze
Form:
Gui (food container)
Type:
Bronzes
Subject:
Dragon
Repository:
The National Palace Museum, Taipei
Description:
The vessel is unique in that the lid and the body form an integrated system of decoration using double dragon as its main motif. In the center of the lid, a pair of dragonheads confront each other with open mouth and jutting fangs. One dragonhead has pointed horns, and the other has cylindrical ones. Their eyes, horns and ears all protrude out of the surface of the vessel in a high relief, and are the most prominent parts. While the eyes and the ears have the same design, their horns are very different. The artisan might have used the different shapes of the horns to articulate that the pair of dragons belong to different classes. Nevertheless, the visual juxtaposition is stunning. Also worthy of mentioning is that the design of the dragon on the lid complies in every way with the structural symmetry of the vessel which is marked by its handles on two sides.
ImageV ID:
M01B00047AS001
Rights:
Lee & Lee Communications