Page 49 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

beverages. The French scholar Maud Girard-Geslan indicates that this
vessel was used for fermented beverages during the Shang 商 dynasty
but its function changed during the Zhou 周 dynasty, when it was used
to hold and pour water during ritual ablutions.

Known in pottery as early as the Dawenkou 大汶口 (4300 – 2500 B.C.)
and Longshan 龍山 (3000 – 2000 B.C.) cultural periods in the neolithic
period, the first he 盉 cast in bronze appears during the later stages
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of the Erlitou period 二里頭 (circa 18 – 17 /16 centuries B.C.). The
only vessel of this type actually known from that period was found in
tomb 1 in section II of the Erlitou 二里頭 site, and is dated from Erlitou
二里頭 stage IV. It strongly resembles the pottery vessels of similar
shape of the same period, i.e., it has a tri-partite body in the shape of
a bulbous li 鬲, a cylindrical spout, a semi-circular handle and a wide
round opening at its top.

At the beginning of the Shang 商 dynasty, during the Erligang 二里崗
period (circa 17 /16 – 14 centuries B.C.), the he 盉 is very thinly cast
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and its body is supported by three hollow legs like the li 鬲 (See photo
on pages 66-68), and it has a small opening in its upper part, and a
small semi-circular handle. This primitive vessel is often considered a
hybrid type and is sometimes referred to as a lihe 鬲盉. (See photo on
page 44).

During the Yinxu 殷墟 period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.), the
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vessel’s body grows rounder, the three legs and pouring spout become
cylindrical, but the handle remains semi-circular, and a cover appears

He, Warring States period (circa 475 – 221 B.C.)
Height: 22.3 cm – Meiyintang Collection n° 24.
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