Page 311 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Duck-shaped painted lacquer he box yellow. The features of the bird are carefully de-
tailed; the remaining decoration comprises an
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Height 16.5 (6!/2), length 20.1 (77s), width 12.5 (4 A)
Warring States Period (c. 433 BCE) assortment of motifs largely unrelated to the repre-
sentation of the bird itself—scales, zigzag lines,
From the tomb of Zenghou Yi at Leigudun, Suixian,
and dots. Panels on the sides of the object depict
Hubei Province
musicians. On one side, a human figure strikes a
Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan yongzhong chime bell with a long mallet; the bell is
suspended (together with a larger bell and two
Washington only chime stones) on a stand in the shape of two birds
confronting each other. On the other side of the
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This box was discovered in the tomb's western box, a warrior dances, while a musician plays a
chamber, which contained the remains of thirteen drum positioned on a vertical pole placed in an
sacrificial victims resting in lacquered coffins. Com- animal-shaped pedestal. The three figures repre-
pared to the contents of the other chambers, the sented in the images bear strange features: appar-
objects buried with these young girls were both scant ently naked, with disproportionately small heads,
and modest, but this box is remarkable for the high they may be men (perhaps shamans) wearing masks
quality of its execution and its unusual shape. Carved for ritual or ceremonial purposes, or, as seems
in the round, it is composed of three separate pieces: more likely, supernatural beings.
the bird's head and neck, the body (formed of two The naturalistic sculptural representation of
glued halves), and the lid of the box. Two openings the object itself is somewhat at odds with the
are carved into the top: one to accommodate the execution of its painted images. Ignoring correct
rectangular lid; the other, cut at the front, within proportions or otherwise lifelike representation,
which the bird's head is secured by means of a tenon. the artist's main concern seems to have been to
Two small wooden nails anchor the tenon; they also create recognizable images within a small frame:
allow the head to move left or right. accordingly, he emphasizes the most important
The entire surface of the piece is lacquered details. The bird that supports the right side of the
in black and decorated with paintings in red and stand is represented in full, but only half of its

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