1943.52.117: Covered Decagonal 'Hu' Wine Vessel with Bird Decor and with Two 'Taotie'-Mask Ring Handles
VesselsA brown cast bronze vessel with gold and turquoise inlay stands upright on a grey background. The body is round with a narrow foot, small neck, and flat lid. The lid has three visible circle pieces that stand straight up. The left and right have small rings attached. The entire piece is inscribed with a detailed geometric, swirling pattern. Large triangle shapes are along the bottom-center and top. Square shapes are along the top-center.
Gallery Text
As its name implies, the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) was an era during which various states that were ruled by powerful clans competed for supremacy in China. The high demand for luxury goods to furnish the tombs of wealthy nobles enabled numerous artistic traditions to flourish, resulting in an array of ornate artifacts from this period and the subsequent Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Bronze vessels continued to be commissioned by the ruling elite during both eras, but the addition of gold and intricate openwork designs (here seen on the gilt bronze pedestaled dou and the small openwork pou vessels) transformed this previously austere tradition into a more decorative artistic craft. Jade containers made in shapes traditionally used for bronze or lacquer vessels (such as the three exhibited here) were the epitome of ostentation, as there was no better way to demonstrate wealth than to reproduce a luxury item in a more expensive medium.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1943.52.117
- Title
- Covered Decagonal 'Hu' Wine Vessel with Bird Decor and with Two 'Taotie'-Mask Ring Handles
- Classification
- Vessels
- Work Type
- vessel
- Date
- 5th-3rd century BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: East Asia, China
- Period
- Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
- Culture
- Chinese
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/204130
Location
- Location
-
Level 1, Room 1600, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Bronze Age to the Golden Age
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Cast bronze with gold and turquoise inlay
- Technique
- Inlaid
- Dimensions
- H. 30.3 x W. 22.6 x Diam. 20.8 cm (11 15/16 x 8 7/8 x 8 3/16 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
- Accession Year
- 1943
- Object Number
- 1943.52.117
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Publication History
- Dorothy W. Gillerman, ed., Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1969), no. 039, pp. 38-39
- Chen Mengjia, Yin Zhou qingtongqi fenlei tulu (A corpus of Chinese bronzes in American Collections), Kyuko Shoin (Tokyo, Japan, 1977), A 731
- Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation (New York, NY, 1995), p. 262, Fig. 45.2
Exhibition History
- S427: Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
- Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
- 32Q: 1600 Early China II, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050
Subjects and Contexts
- Google Art Project
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu