Page 52 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

The precise function of the hu 壺 is problematic. The Zhou dynasty
(circa 12 /11 centuries – 221 B.C.) Yili 儀禮 (The Book of Rites and
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Ceremonies) mentions that the hu 壺 was used to hold alcoholic
beverages, but certain inscriptions and other classical texts classify
the hu 壺 among vessels used for holding water. The general opinion
among scholars nowadays is that the hu 壺 was used to hold either
alcoholic beverages or water, depending on what the situation called
for.

Several scholars, including Ma Chengyuan 馬承源, believe that the
hu 壺 first appeared in bronze as early as the Erligang 二里崗 period
(circa 17 /16 – 14 centuries B.C.) of the early Shang 商 dynasty, but
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no such early example has as yet been unearthed by archaeologists.
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During the Yinxu 殷墟 period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.) of the
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Shang 商 dynasty, most hu 壺 take a form which resembles the lower,
rounded part of a pear that gradually becomes a bit narrower as it rises
towards its narrower and much shorter neck. A pair of cylindrical lug
handles appears near the top, one on each side of the neck and the
usually coverless vessel stands on a high ring foot. If there is a cover, it
is usually dome-shaped.
Sometimes, the body of the usually coverless hu 壺 becomes more oval
in shape and some, called fanghu 方壺, are even square.

Gradually the shape of the hu’s 壺 body changes, and by the end of the
Shang 商, the pear-shaped lower section narrows half way up towards
the top of the vessel and the hu’s 壺 neck becomes much longer and
the later hu 壺 usually has a high cover, often with a wide, high, thick-
lipped, open-mouthed shallow cup-like appendage on its top (See
photo on page 52).

From the Warring States 戰國 period (circa 475 – 221 B.C.) onwards,
the bianhu 扁壺, a flattened-egg-shaped vessel on a low rectangular
foot and topped by a short, rather narrow cylindrical neck with a
slightly protruding lip and a low cover with a small ring handle on it,
becomes very popular in addition to the rounder version of the hu 壺
(See figure on page 53).

Hu, Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.)
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Height with handle: 40 cm – Meiyintang Collection n° 183.
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