Page 43 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

Gu 觚

The gu 觚 is one of the most common bronze goblets used for fermented-
beverage libations. Its chalice-shaped body is flared in its upper part
and at its base. Slightly protruding at the middle, it is sometimes
flanked by four flanges, or cast with a décor in open work, or, extremely
rarely, the whole vessel may be of a square shape.

The term gu 觚, which is not mentioned in early bronze inscriptions,
appears in the Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 written during the Eastern Han
dynasty and other early encyclopedic dictionaries and the term was
confirmed in usage by the Song 宋 scholar Lü Dalin 呂大臨 in 1092 in
his famous work, the Kaogu tu 考古圖.

Very common in ceramic during the neolithic period and the Erlitou
cultural 二里頭文化 period (circa 19 – 17 /16 centuries B.C.), the gu
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觚 vessel appears in bronze at the beginning of the Shang 商 dynasty
during the Erligang 二里崗 period (circa 17 /16 – 14 centuries B.C.).
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At that time the gu 觚 is small in size but roughly cast with thin walls.
Its chalice shape is like an uninterrupted vertical line from its foot to its
rim. It is usually decorated with a frieze of primitive taotie 饕餮 masks,
or, much more rarely, its foot is decorated with geometric motifs in
openwork.
During the Yinxu 殷墟 period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.), the
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gu 觚 becomes, with the jue 爵, the most popular vessel, and the two

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Gu, Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.)
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Height: 32.1 cm – Private Collection.
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