Period:Shang dynasty Production date:1200BC-1050BC
Materials:bronze
Technique:
Subjects:dragon taotie
Dimensions:Diameter: 13.30 centimetres (at lip) Height: 19.80 centimetres Weight: 0.85 kilograms
Description:
Bronze vessel of the type called gu. It is rather short in proportion to its height. At the centre, front and back, are fairly conventional taotie faces without horns; in their place, eyebrows lie above eyes completely filled by their pupils. Pairs of comma-shaped confronted dragons around the foot are more unusual. Vertical divisions of triangular ridges, banded with closely packed intaglio lines alternating with smooth areas to make a chevron pattern, are the most distinctive features of the gu.
IMG
![图片[1]-gu BM-1939-0522.2-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Shang dynasty/Bronzes/mid_00054238_001.jpg)
![图片[2]-gu BM-1939-0522.2-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Shang dynasty/Bronzes/mid_00760529_001.jpg)
Comments:Rawson 1987:After jue, gu were perhaps the most common Shang ritual vessels. This gu has a relatively early shape, being rather short in proportion to its height. The shape notwithstanding, both the inscription and decoration are typical to the late Anyang period. At the centre, front and back, are fairly conventional taotie faces without horns; in their place eyebrows lie above eyes completely filled by their pupils. Pairs of comma-shaped confronted dragons around the foot are more unusual.Vertical divisions of triangular ridges, banded with closely packed intaglio lines alternating with smooth areas to make a chevron pattern, are the most distinctive features of the gu. Similar gu include a vessel from tomb M856 in the western sector of Yinxu at Anyang, a gu in a Chinese collection and a third in the Fujii Yurinkan in Kyoto. A number of other vessels with this distinctive banded decoration are known, including a jue, also from Yinxu (Fig. 8). Inside the foot the gu carries an inscription starting with the graph for dagger-axe (ge), here a clan sign, and followed by the ancestor designation Zu Gui.
Materials:bronze
Technique:
Subjects:dragon taotie
Dimensions:Diameter: 13.30 centimetres (at lip) Height: 19.80 centimetres Weight: 0.85 kilograms
Description:
Bronze vessel of the type called gu. It is rather short in proportion to its height. At the centre, front and back, are fairly conventional taotie faces without horns; in their place, eyebrows lie above eyes completely filled by their pupils. Pairs of comma-shaped confronted dragons around the foot are more unusual. Vertical divisions of triangular ridges, banded with closely packed intaglio lines alternating with smooth areas to make a chevron pattern, are the most distinctive features of the gu.
IMG
Comments:Rawson 1987:After jue, gu were perhaps the most common Shang ritual vessels. This gu has a relatively early shape, being rather short in proportion to its height. The shape notwithstanding, both the inscription and decoration are typical to the late Anyang period. At the centre, front and back, are fairly conventional taotie faces without horns; in their place eyebrows lie above eyes completely filled by their pupils. Pairs of comma-shaped confronted dragons around the foot are more unusual.Vertical divisions of triangular ridges, banded with closely packed intaglio lines alternating with smooth areas to make a chevron pattern, are the most distinctive features of the gu. Similar gu include a vessel from tomb M856 in the western sector of Yinxu at Anyang, a gu in a Chinese collection and a third in the Fujii Yurinkan in Kyoto. A number of other vessels with this distinctive banded decoration are known, including a jue, also from Yinxu (Fig. 8). Inside the foot the gu carries an inscription starting with the graph for dagger-axe (ge), here a clan sign, and followed by the ancestor designation Zu Gui.
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