Page 15 - Status & Ritual Chinese Archaic Bronzes

rely for their aesthetic appeal on tautness of form, perfect Lot 10
proportions, controlled tension between decorated and Lot 12
undecorated areas, and precise balance, the circular handle Lot 11
gracefully echoing the vessel’s flaring base. The lozenges
inlayed in copper on this dou vessel’s lip also attest to the

Warring States period’s taste for sumptuously embellished
surfaces; while some vessels boast extensive inlays of gold,
silver, turquoise, malachite, or a combination thereof, others,
such as this dou, rely on simple points of contrasting color.

Typically more austere than those from earlier periods,
vessels from the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) often boast
unembellished surfaces, such as the garlic-head bottle (lot 6)
or the square wine jar, known in Chinese as a fanghu (lot 11);
others sport simple horizontal flutes, as witnessed by the hu
storage jar (lot 13). The bases of vessels from the Western Han
period (206 BC–AD 9) tend to be relatively short (lots 6, 11);
by contrast, vessels from the Eastern Han (AD 25–220) often
rest on bases that are tall in proportion to the vessel, imparting
a mannered appearance (lot 13).

Apart from sacral vessels, the foundrymen of China’s Great
Bronze Age also crafted numerous other items, from horse
and chariot trappings (lot 2) to censers (lot 3) to musical
bells (lots 10, 15) and ceremonial drums (lot 5). Popular in
the Zhou dynasty, bronze bells, which were created in sets,
were “aurally and visually the most prominent instruments
of musical ensembles” in ancient China.5 Bosses rise on the
surfaces of the most characteristic bell types, the bosses
regimented into rows and columns and set in four quadrants,
two on each side (lot 15). Patterns of interconnected relief
dots embellish the surface of a rare type of bell, the patterns
perhaps representing constellations. The chunyu drum (lot
5) was not a musical instrument; rather, it is believed to
have served military purposes, struck during battles to signal
troops.

The most characteristic censer shape during the Han dynasty
was the so-called boshanlu (lot 3), which has a bowl-shaped
container set on a slender, columnar stem that rises from
a flaring – indeed, almost flat – base. The conical cover
resembles a mountain, its striations suggesting dense forests,
its openwork elements not only permitting the fragrant smoke
to emerge from the censer but also suggesting mountain

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