Page 27 - Christie's Important Chinese Art Nov 3 2020 London

kilometers, or thirty-five miles, from Houma where
a famous bronze foundry was active in antiquity
and where both the present vessel and the Shanxi
Institute of Archaeology bronze likely were cast.
Although both old and contemporaneous with the
vessel itself, the cover associated with the present
liuding is a recent match—a substitute for the now-
lost original cover. Both the present cover and that
of the Shanxi Institute of Archaeology liuding feature
a swirling pattern of two intertwined dragons, their
opposed heads facing outward and biting the rim,
along with two opposed human figures that kneel
along the cover’s outer edge, that face each other
across the cover, and that appear at a measured
rotation from the dragon heads. The only difference
between the covers is that a small animal—likely a
feline and perhaps a handle—stands in the center of
the present cover; it faces one of the kneeling figures
while its curling tail points toward the other one.
In fact, ceramic molds for casting bronze covers—
or visually related bronze mirrors—that depict
collection of the Shanghai Museum. And circular intertwined dragons have been excavated at Houma,
ding vessels with a single register of horizontally as have molds for casting kneeling figures akin to
oriented scales immediately below the lip, with those on these two covers.
cabriole legs, and with a pair of large handles that
Another closely related, covered liuding, also from
spring horizontally from just below frieze of scales
Houma, is in the Shanxi Provincial Museum, Taiyuan
and then turn to rise vertically were frequently
its cover lacks the present cover’s two kneeling
produced by the late Western Zhou period, as
figures, but, like the present cover, it sports a standing
witnessed by a vessel in the Shanghai Museum. As
animal at its center. The animal on the Shanxi
ding vessels with a band of horizontally oriented
Museum cover turns its head toward its proper left,
scales below the lip and vertically set scales on the
while that on the present cover faces directly ahead.
belly were commonplace by the late Western Zhou
A third closely related liuding is in the collection of
and early Spring and Autumn periods, the decoration
the Shanghai Museum; its cover includes a pair of
on the present liuding is consistent with that on well-
intertwined dragons whose opposing heads appear to
known, contemporaneous vessels, indicating that
bite the cover’s outer edge, but it lacks both kneeling
this miniature liuding dates to the eighth to seventh
figures and a standing animal.
century BC. The meaning of such decoration, if
any, remains unknown; in fact, it likely is simply a Hayashi Minao (1925–2006) illustrated two liuding
repeating, abstract, geometric motif. vessels, which he termed yiding in his invaluable
1984 compendium of Shang and Zhou bronzes;
Currently in the collection of the Institute of
although each of those vessels has a circular
Archaeology of Shanxi Province, in Taiyuan a
body, three cabriole legs, two upright handles, and
virtually identical miniature liuding was excavated
decoration of scales, each has a trough-like spout—
at Shangguocun, Wenxi county, in southwestern
or channel-like spout—rather than an animal-head
Shanxi province in 1989. That site is roughly fifty-six