Gu wine vessel with animal-mask pattern. Southern Song to Ming dynasty, 12th-17th century

Gu wine vessel with animal-mask pattern. Southern Song to Ming dynasty, 12th-17th century

• Image Number: C1A000150N000000000PAC
• Dynasty: Southern Song dynasty
• Category: Bronzes
• Function: Furnisher
• Material: Mineral/Metal/Bronze
• Description:
  The mouth of the Gu is extremely open, its belly is straight, and its feet are encircled. The neck is decorated with banana leaf pattern, and the inside is filled with disintegrated animal face pattern. The lower neck is decorated with a small circle vortex pattern and four petal patterns. Abdomen and feet are decorated with disintegrated animal facial patterns. There are four ribs in the lower neck, abdomen and ring feet. This piece imitates the shape of the Gu in the late Shang Dynasty, but there are many errors in details such as vortex pattern, four petal pattern, cloud and thunder pattern of ground pattern. The red and green surfaces are rusted, and the local ornamentation is covered with warts like stacked rust layers. The above features are common ways of making old antiques in the late period. This artifact is one of the “Ten Artifacts of the Zhou Path” awarded to the Imperial College in the 34th year of Qianlong’s reign (1769). It is named “Zhou Lei Wen Gu”.