Page 62 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

During the Erligang 二里崗 period the vessel, with a very thin inner
wall, has an oval body and a flat bottom and is supported by three
extremely thin triangular legs.

During the Yinxu 殷墟 period, the jiao 角 develops like the jue 爵: its
body, initially oval in form, becomes rounder, and its bottom, which
was flat during the Erlitou 二里頭 cultural period and the Erligang 二
里崗 period, becomes round.

The jiao 角 becomes very popular in the transitional period between
the late Shang 商 dynasty and the early Western Zhou 西周 dynasty
around the 12 and 11 centuries B.C., when it sometimes has a cover.
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Jue 爵

The tripod jue 爵, used to hold and to warm up fermented beverages for
libations during ritual ceremonies, was the first bronze vessel to appear
in Ancient China. Its name and use was already recorded in China’s
earliest written histories and dictionaries and the vessel was illustrated
and described in the Kaogu tu 考古圖 written by Lü Dalin 呂大臨 in
1092, probably the oldest study on ancient Chinese bronze vessels.

Known in pottery from as early as the beginnings of Chinese culture,
the first jue 爵 cast in bronze appears during the Erlitou 二里頭 period’s
stage III, which dates to the end of the Xia 夏 dynasty (circa 21 –
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17 /16 centuries B.C.). This wine cup, supported by three triangular
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legs, has a long pouring spout on one side of its rim, a shorter pointed
rim on the other side, two vertical protuberances surmounted by knobs

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Jue, Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.)
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Height: 20.5 cm – Private Collection.
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