Period:Shang dynasty Production date:12thC BC (circa)
Materials:bronze
Technique:cast
Subjects:animal taotie
Dimensions:Height: 12.25 inches
Description:
Bronze ‘jia’. Bull’s head handle and ‘taotie’ masks on the body.
IMG
![图片[1]-jia BM-1954-1019.1-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Shang dynasty/Bronzes/mid_00308034_001.jpg)
![图片[2]-jia BM-1954-1019.1-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Shang dynasty/Bronzes/mid_00350017_001.jpg)
![图片[3]-jia BM-1954-1019.1-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Shang dynasty/Bronzes/mid_00512992_001.jpg)
Comments:Rawson 1992:The ‘jia’ is a ritual vessel for wine drinking, with a cup-shaped body supported on three blade-like legs. Some have three lobes. ‘Jia’ also have curved handles and small vertical posts at the lip. Their mouths are circular, not spouted or pointed like those of ‘jue’. The ‘jia’ employed from the Erlitou period was abandoned during the middle Western Zhou.The principal decorative motif on most Shang ritual vessels was the ‘taotie’, a face that resembles but never captures the likeness of an animal. It has the featurtes of a creature: eyes, ears, mouth, horns and claws. But the forms of these horns or claws differ from example to example, and they do not seem to belong to a specific real animal. The motif has perplexed scholars for centuries and whether the ‘taotie’ has a meaning independent of the bronzes is not clear. It is more straightforward to descibe its development as an ornament than to consider its possible iconography. Changes made to the face seem to have had the purpose of decorating ritual vessels ever more effectively, in the sense of densely covering the whole of their surfaces. The changes do not appear to have been intended to extend or elaborate religious symbolism.As a group, bronze ritual vessels would have created a striking visual effect. Golden in colour when first made, they would rapidly have turned black in the humid summer climate of north-central China.
Materials:bronze
Technique:cast
Subjects:animal taotie
Dimensions:Height: 12.25 inches
Description:
Bronze ‘jia’. Bull’s head handle and ‘taotie’ masks on the body.
IMG
Comments:Rawson 1992:The ‘jia’ is a ritual vessel for wine drinking, with a cup-shaped body supported on three blade-like legs. Some have three lobes. ‘Jia’ also have curved handles and small vertical posts at the lip. Their mouths are circular, not spouted or pointed like those of ‘jue’. The ‘jia’ employed from the Erlitou period was abandoned during the middle Western Zhou.The principal decorative motif on most Shang ritual vessels was the ‘taotie’, a face that resembles but never captures the likeness of an animal. It has the featurtes of a creature: eyes, ears, mouth, horns and claws. But the forms of these horns or claws differ from example to example, and they do not seem to belong to a specific real animal. The motif has perplexed scholars for centuries and whether the ‘taotie’ has a meaning independent of the bronzes is not clear. It is more straightforward to descibe its development as an ornament than to consider its possible iconography. Changes made to the face seem to have had the purpose of decorating ritual vessels ever more effectively, in the sense of densely covering the whole of their surfaces. The changes do not appear to have been intended to extend or elaborate religious symbolism.As a group, bronze ritual vessels would have created a striking visual effect. Golden in colour when first made, they would rapidly have turned black in the humid summer climate of north-central China.
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