Page 305 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Gold zhan bowl and hi spoon that it might have been used to scoop meat or
vegetables from a broth or to serve grain. 2
7
zhan: height n.o (4%), diam. at mouth 15.1 (5 /s)
Unlike the majority of the ritual bronzes from
W: length 13 (5 %) the tomb, the vessel does not bear an inscription;
Warring States Period (c. 433 BCE)
nevertheless, certain aspects of the style indicate
From Leigudun, Suixian, Hubei Province
that it was cast in Zeng foundries. The S-shaped
Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan zoomorphic feet are simplified versions of the crea-
tures that support some of the bronzes from the
Unlike the bronze ritual vessels and bell chime, tomb, such as the;m stand for the hu (cat. 96).
which were placed in the main chamber, this cov- The decoration — dragon interlace on the bowl
ered bowl and spoon were found with other gold and squared spirals and rope twist on the cover —
1
objects in the tomb's eastern chamber. The loca- echoes that on a bronze ding, inscribed with Mar-
tion suggests that these objects were not for ritual quis Yi's name, from the tomb's central chamber. 3
purposes, as were many of the objects placed in The spoon is made of electrum (87.45 percent
the chamber, but intended for the marquis' gold and 12.55 percent silver), a naturally occurring
4
personal use and enjoyment. The spoon was found alloy. The bowl has not been analyzed but is un-
inside the bowl, indicating that they composed doubtedly of similar composition. The thickness of
a set. Perforations in the bowl of the spoon suggest the metal indicates that the piece was cast rather

304 CH U AN D O T H E R C U L T U R E S