Page 56 - The Arts of China, By Michael Sullivan Good Book

45 Ritual vessel, kuti. Brorue. Dated by
44 Ritual vessel, yi, Brorue. Late inscription to 815 B.C. Western Chou
Western Chou period, about eighth period.
century B.C.

46 Ritual vessel, hu. Bronze. Dated by
inscription to 8 ft 2 or 85] B.C.: "It was in
the afjth year, 10th moon, first quarter,
on the day chi-nuo. when Fan Chu
Shang had this bridal hu cast as a bndal
gift for his first child Meng Fei Kuai.
May sons and grandsons forever
treasure and use it."

back by the Chou kings from their northern campaigns, and by
the rise of the feudal states, which were beginning to develop ar-
tistic styles of their own. The most striking new feature the north-
r em contact introduced is the art of interlacing animal forms into
intricate patterns. This first appears in Chinese art in the bronzes
excavated from seventh-century graves at Hsin-cheng and Shang-
j
ts'un-ling in Honan. A more highly developed example is the hu,
47 Ritual vessel, hu Bronze. Early unearthed at Hsin-cheng in Honan and dateable around 650 B.C.,
Eastern Chou period, about seventh
century B.C. which is illustrated here. It stands on two tigers; two more tigers
with huge horns and twisting bodies curl up the sides to form han-
dles, while smaller tigers play at their feet. The body is covered
with an overall pattern of flat, ropelike, interlaced dragons, the lid
surrounded with flaring leaf-shaped flanges. Gone is the wonder-
fully integrated quality of the early bronzes, which achieved so