Page 175 - Deydier VOL.2 Meiyintang Collection of Chinese Bronses

190. Pair of ritual bronze food vessels li
Middle or late Western Zhou dynasty, circa 10 - 9 centuries bc.
th
th
西周中晚期青銅鬲 (一對)
Height: 22.3 cm, Diameter: 19.7 cm

A very unusual pair of ritual food vessels li. The body of Provenance:
each vessel is composed of three, wide, elephant-face-like ▪ Private Collection, Hong Kong.
decorated lobes that become narrower like the trunks of ▪ Galerie Christian Deydier, Paris, France.
elephants as they descend into the vessel’s undecorated
legs. At their tops, these three lobes merge into a wide Similar example:
horizontal band of large, overturned-C-like scroll motifs, ▪ A li with a very similar shape, but without decor, is
surmounted by a plain short neck that extends outwards illustrated by Hayashi M., In Shu Jidai Seidoki no
at its rim, upon which is set two high, arch-like handles. Kenkyu (In Shu Seidoki Soran Ichi), Conspectus of Yin
and Zhou Bronzes, Tokyo 1984, Vol. I - Plates, p. 65
The two vessels have a very nice light blue, green and grey no. 49.
patina.
Note:
▪ The morphology of these vessels is quite unusual,
which tempts one to assign a provincial origin to these
pieces.
▪ This provincial origin is confirmed as a similar
decor appears on a Western Zhou Dynasty he vessel
unearthed in Southern Anhui province, and illustrated
in Anhui Daxue, Anhui sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo,
Wannan Shang Zhou Qingtongqi, 安徽大學 安徽省文
物考古研究所編著 《皖南商周青銅器》, Beijing 2006,
p. 86-87.

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