Page 159 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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against a red ground. The decoration on the body Pottery gui vessel
is arranged in two horizontal registers, bordered Height 27.2 (10 Ys)
by narrow bands edged in rounded relief. Diagonal
Early Bronze Age, Lower Xiajiadian Culture
strips within the bands encircle the vessel in alter-
(c. 2000-1500 BCE)
nating colors. Executed with utmost discipline, the
From Dadianzi, Aohanqi, Inner Mongolia
principal configurations in white, ending in paired
curls, are organized in parallel rows with the larger The Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Beijing
units occupying the zone of the vessel's widest
1
circumference. The units in each row are the mir- This vessel and its smaller counterpart the/i'ao
ror-reverse of those above and below. Horizontal (cat. 45) were found in the niche of M 612, lying
strips marked by pairs of small black squares link side-by-side. These two vessel types, intended for
the rows of smaller and larger units within each the pouring of libations, have been recovered only
register, while others lead to the curls on the right from the larger high-status burials at Dadianzi, and
of each unit. Similar units in single file circum- they invariably form a pair. Evidence indicates that
scribe the neck. in most, if not all cases, they were accompanied
The patterns on the lid, organized in a some- by a lacquered wooden goblet shaped as a flaring
what looser, but no less rigorous manner, are ori- cylinder, which lay nearby. Together the three ves-
ented along horizontal lines, and, vertically, by lines sels evidently formed a specific ritual set. Only one
of fluctuating width reaching to the upper and complete example of the gu has survived (M 726:7),
lower borders. The finial above appears to represent but we know of their presence in other tombs like
a snake's head, with its mouth modeled in relief. M 612 by the remaining traces of their lacquer
2
The narrow band of white lozenges around shell. Apparently the three vessels were deposited
the foot, different in character from the rest of the in the niche at the conclusion of the libation rite,
decor, is shown in fine lines of red reserve against a after their contents had been emptied.
black ground. At the center each lozenge is studded The gui from M 612 is fashioned of a buff-
with a black dot. LF-H colored ware, largely obscured by the black paint
that covers its surfaces. Its three hollow, tapering
i Excavated in 1977 (M 612:22); published: Zhongguo 1993, legs support a cylindrical body that widens toward
130, fig. 102, center; Zhongguo 1996,117, fig. 61:5; 204, fig.
94:7. The excavation report identifies the vessel as a guan. the rim. The radius of the rim is approximately
equal to that of the splayed legs at their tips, which
accounts for the vessel's well-balanced appearance.
The rim rises at the front to form a short, upright
pouring channel. A small knob at the opposite side
of the rim may originally have served to secure a
cover in place. At the back of the vessel, a broad
strap handle reaches from the midsection to the
upper part of one leg.
Gui vessels of this type recovered from Dadianzi
are closely analogous to examples from the Erlitou
Period II, and along with the;/flo, establish the
existence of long-distance cultural transmissions
from the Central Plains region to the far northeast
3
at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Despite the
clear dependence of the Dadianzi gui on a Henan
prototype, its surface decoration indicates that

158BRONZE ACE CHINA