Page 23 - Deydier Early Chinese Bronzes

length by 1.20 metres in width, Tomb III M2:2 contained an unusual
richness of burial paraphernalia, most especially bronze objects. The
archaeologists discovered two bronze blades, one 18.4 cm long and the
other 26.2 cm long, together with two bronze ritual vessels in the form
of tripod jue 爵, one 18.4 cm high and the other 22.4 cm high. These
elegantly shaped vessels each have an elongated, recessed upper body
on a wider, shorter mid-section, a long, wide perforated handle on one
side of its upper body, a long spout extending from its top rim and three
outwardly sloping triangular legs below its mid-section.

The next archaeological expedition to the Erlitou site lasted from the
winter of 1980 to the spring of 1981 and also centred its operations on
Sector III of the site. This time the archaeologists discovered a great deal
of pottery from Periods II, III and IV of Erlitou 二里頭第二, 三和四期,
but no bronzes at all.

An early ancestor of the bronze mirror? An early ancestor of the bronze mirror?
VI KM4:27 VI KM3:9

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