Page 226 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Bronze lei vessel rather than for storing wine, their presumed origi-
1
nal function in the north. It remains uncertain
Height 54 (21 y 4)
Late Shang Period (?) (c. 1300-1100 BCE?) whether any of these vessels was produced by the
From Pit 2 at Sanxingdui, Guanghan, Sanxingdui culture; all may well have been imports.
zun from
Sanxingdui have close
Indeed, the
stylistic
Sichuan Province
parallels with examples recovered from sites in
Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan, Sichuan Province Hunan in the Middle Yangzi macroregion, and
recent studies of lead isotope ratios strongly sug-
Ritual vessels constitute only a small percentage gest that the bronzes at Sanxingdui and those
of the bronze objects recovered from the Sanxing- at Dayangzhou (cats. 57-64) utilized the same
dui pits, overshadowed in number (and in sheer lead ores. 2
weight) by the bronze heads, masks, and the stand- The Sanxingdui lei reflect two distinct styles.
ing figure — all emblematic of a distinctive tradi- Two of the three lei have flush surface decoration,
tion. In rich burial assemblages in the north, such and animal heads in relief at the shoulder edge are
as the tomb of Fu Hao (cats. 46-54), by contrast, centered over prominent taotie masks on the body.
ritual vessels predominate; with the notable excep- (The two vessels differ, however, in height and in
tion of weapons, other uses for bronze are far less the treatment of particular decorative elements —
important. the horns on the animal heads, as well as the
Both of the Sanxingdui pits yielded zun and lei flanges and motifs in secondary registers.) Both lei
wine containers, vessel types that flourished during resemble an example unearthed at Yueyang on Lake
the Upper Erligang Phase and the Transitional Dongting in Hunan province. The third lei f shown
3
Period prior to the occupation of Anyang. Bronze here, is a tall vessel with an especially high ring
had long been used to create vessels for cooking foot. Thin, hooked flanges divide the exterior into
meat offerings, steaming and serving grain, and four identical sections: masks at the foot are sur-
warming and serving the alcoholic drinks favored mounted by larger masks on the body and relief
in Shang rites, but large, metal containers intended ram heads. The shoulder has a band of simple deco-
to store wine appeared only later. It may be that ration, while the neck is bare except for "bowstring"
stoneware vessels had been used to hold alcoholic lines. The ram heads at the shoulder appear to have
spirits prior to the appearance of bronze types — been attached to the body after its casting, possibly
indeed, the zun shape itself derives from ceramics. by using a tenon on the vessel. The treatment of the
The zun and lei share a structure in common: a ring two levels of mask decoration is distinctive: many
foot, more or less tall in proportion to the overall parts of the masks are in relief and "exploded" so
height of the vessel; a body wider than the foot, that the elements float apart from each other. Relief
with an expanding profile; and a sharply defined surfaces and ground are decorated with intaglio
(carinated) shoulder break. The types are distin- lines tracing curls and quills; image and ground as
guished by the treatment of their necks and a result are weakly contrasted. RT
mouths. Zun have wide, trumpet-shaped mouths,
while lei have cylindrical necks with everted lips. 1 Rawson 1996, 70.
2 Zheng 1995.
Three lei and nine zun are reported from the 3 Excavated in 1986; published: Zhao 1994, nos. 68, 69.
Sanxingdui pits. At the time of their excavation,
their exteriors were covered by a red pigment
(possibly ochre). The vessels themselves con-
tained cowries and hardstone carvings; Jessica
Rawson has suggested that the vessels may have
served as "precious containers" for such objects

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