Page 60 - Deydier The_Lippens_Collection_of_Ancient_Chinese_Bronzes

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16 – archaic bronze wine / water vessel he
SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG / YINXU PERIOD
TH
TH
CIRCA 14 – 12 / 11 CENTURIES B. C.
TH
H.: 27.5 CM L.: 23.5 CM
Archaic bronze wine / water vessel supported by three legs.
The vessel’s tri-sectioned bulbous body is supported by three thick
rounded trunk-like flat-bottomed legs. Each of the body’s lobes is
decorated with a very large taotie mask cast with bulbous eyes,
powerful horns and a lower jaw, all on a leiwen background.
The neck of the he is cast with a frieze decorated with kui dragons,
shown in profile, on a leiwen background.
A cylindrical upwardly rising spout emerges from the side opposite
the vessel’s semi-circular handle decorated with its masterfully cast
buffalo’s head at its top.
The vessel’s domed cover is decorated with a band of three taotie
masks formed of pairs of confronting kui dragons shown in profile
on an elaborate background of leiwen and geometrical patterns,
and is surmounted by a flat-topped circular knob. A double-link
chain attaches the cover to the top of the vessel’s handle.
The he has a dark-green patina.

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