Page 109 - Deydier The_Lippens_Collection_of_Ancient_Chinese_Bronzes

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29 – archaic bronze wine vessel zhi
SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG / YINXU PERIOD
CIRCA 14 – 12 / 11 CENTURIES B. C.
TH
TH
TH
H.: 11.5 CM L.: 11.7 CM
Ritual bronze vessel used for dinking fermented beverages. The PUBLISHED
bulging round body with a flared neck is supported on a ring foot
and decorated on each side with a large owl. – Deydier Ch., Les Bronzes Archaïques Chinois, Archaic Chinese
Each of the four sections of the vessel is decorated with one part of Bronzes – 1 – Xia & Shang – Paris 1995, p. 122.
the bird: the vessel’s foot is cast with the legs of the bird, the lower
section of the body with its wings, the upper part with the crea- SIMILAR EXAMPLES
ture’s round eyes, beak and ears and the vessel’s neck with its horns
or large ears. All are cast in high relief on a leiwen background. – A very similar vessel zhi with a cover, from the Asian Art Museum
The vessel has a dark patina. of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection, is illustrated by
Deydier Ch., Les Bronzes Archaïques Chinois – Archaic Chinese
INSCRIPTION Bronzes – 1 – Xia – Shang, Paris 1995, p. 270.
– Another zhi also with a cover, is published in Zhongguo qing-
– A two-character inscription inside the vessel reads “Fu Ding”, tongqi quanji – 2 – Shang, Beijing 1997, p. 143, no. 193.
“Father Ding”.
NOTE
PROVENANCE
– According to early Chinese chronicles, the people of the Shang
– Alan & Simone Hartman Collection, New York, USA. worshipped a mystical bird called a chixiao or owl which they
– Deydier Ch. / Oriental Bronzes Ltd, London, UK. believed was endowed with extraordinary mystical powers and
– Count & Countess Paul Lippens Collection, Brussels, Belgium, 1999. served as a medium between the world of the living and the
world of the dead.

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