Detail View: National Palace English: Bronze Gui vessel with double dragon motif
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Work ID:
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M01B00047
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Title:
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Bronze Gui vessel with double dragon motif
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Creation Date:
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Early Western Zhou Dynasty
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Start Year Date:
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B.C.1100
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End Year Date:
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B.C.950
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Dynasty:
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07 Western Zhou (c. 1100 ~771 B.C.)
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Creation Place:
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China
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Measurements:
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Height: 21.3 cm; Weight: 3965g
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Material:
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Bronze
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Form:
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Gui (food container)
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Type:
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Bronzes
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Subject:
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Dragon
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Repository:
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The National Palace Museum, Taipei
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Description:
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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.
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ImageV ID:
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M01B00047AS001
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Rights:
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Lee & Lee Communications
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