Page 16 - Avery Brundage Ancient Bronzes and Collecting Biography
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figure 8.15. Molded architectural tile. Red
Pagoda of Xiuding near Anyang, Henan
Province, Tang dynasty, Taizong reign
(627–650). Ceramic, height 21½ in. (54.6
cm). Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art
Museum of San Francisco, B60S74+.
The rhinoceros carries an inscription of twenty-seven characters in the inside bottom
(figs. 8.1e,g,h,i). It may be translated as
On the day dingsi [the 54th day of the 60-day cycle], the King inspected the Kui tem-
ple. The King bestowed upon Xiaochen Yu cowry shells from Kui. It was the time when
the King returned from attacking the Renfang. It was the King’s fifteenth sacrificial
cycle, a day in the rong-ritual cycle.
The interpretation of the inscription is still subject to debate on some points, but the
translation adopted here should capture its general meaning. The language and calli-
43
graphic style of the inscription certainly point to a Shang-period date for the vessel, and
the length of the inscription, rather long among Shang inscriptions, seems to indicate a
time toward the end of Shang, in the eleventh century bce. Xiaochen in the inscription
216 Jay Xu
