Page 90 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

Zun 尊

Under the name zun 尊, a character which early appears in inscriptions
on ancient bronzes, we find three types of vessels used to hold fermented
beverages:

1. A wide-shouldered vessel with a large, wide body, a much narrower,
neck that flares outwards as it rises and a high, downwardly sloping
ring foot. This form of zun 尊 is known in bronze from as early as
the Erligang 二里崗 period (circa 17 /16 – 14 centuries B.C.) of
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the early Shang 商.
During the Yinxu 殷墟 or Anyang 安陽 period (circa 14 – 12 /11
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centuries B.C.) and until the disappearance of this particular shape
of zun 尊 in the middle of the period, the zun 尊 is the most common
of the large bronze vessels produced, more so than the lei 罍. The
most beautiful and rarest wide-shouldered zun 尊 is the fangzun 方
尊, the square version of the early zun 尊.

The most famous is a fangzun方尊 decorated on each of its
four corners with an almost full-front-bodied ram with a large,
magnificently horned head jutting out over each side of the

Zun, Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.)
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Height: 35 cm – Private Collection.
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