| Huixian Bronze Hu | |
|---|---|
 Pair of bronze hu from Huixian on display at the British Museum | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Size | 48.3 cm High, 17 cm Diameter |
| Created | 5th Century BC |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | Asia OA 1972.2-29.1.a, b |
The Huixian Bronze Hu are a pair of bronze wine vessels that were found in the city of Huixian, Henan province, central China. Dating to the Eastern Zhou dynasty, they have been part of the British Museum's Asian Collections since 1972. [1] [2]
The two vessels were apparently found in Huixian in Henan province, although the exact circumstances of their discovery remains unclear. However, based on their manufacturing technique and design, it is evident that the hu were made at the Jin State Foundry in Houma, Shanxi province, where bronze casting was centred during the Eastern Zhou period (771-221 BC). They were bequeathed to the British Museum in 1972.
The pair of hu are identical in shape and size and date to the 5th Century BC. The two delicately cast containers were made through the lost wax technique. Apart from slight damage to the lower part of the vessels, they are in good condition. Their ornate decoration includes repeated bands of layered interlace intersected by roped borders. The lower band includes four taotie or monster faces composed of vipers. The handles of the two vessels are designed in the shape of prancing tigers with reverted heads, and their open lids are made in the form of petalled crowns.
On the outer rim of the lids are identical inscriptions which record the casting of the hu by Zhao Meng , a minister of the Jin State, for a meeting with the King of Wu at Huangshi in 482 BC. The purpose of such meetings was to forge alliances between different territories and the two vessels may have been made to celebrate such an agreement between the Jin and Wu states.
Basse Yutz Flagons for a pair of bronze wine vessels that were made at roughly the same time on the other side of the world.
Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based on or draws on Chinese culture, heritage, and history. Early "Stone Age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. After that period, Chinese art, like Chinese history, was typically classified by the succession of ruling dynasties of Chinese emperors, most of which lasted several hundred years. The Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei contains extensive collections of Chinese art.
The zun or yi, used until the Northern Song (960–1126) is a type of Chinese ritual bronze or ceramic wine vessel with a round or square vase-like form, sometimes in the shape of an animal, first appearing in the Shang dynasty. Used in religious ceremonies to hold wine, the zun has a wide lip to facilitate pouring. Vessels have been found in the shape of a dragon, an ox, a goose, and more. One notable zun is the He zun from the Western Zhou.
Ding (鼎) are prehistoric and ancient Chinese cauldrons, standing upon legs with a lid and two facing handles. They are one of the most important shapes used in Chinese ritual bronzes. They were made in two shapes: round vessels with three legs and rectangular ones with four, the latter often called fangding. They were used for cooking, storage, and ritual offerings to the gods or to ancestors. The earliest recovered examples are pre-Shang ceramic ding at the Erlitou site but they are better known from the Bronze Age, particularly after the Zhou deemphasized the ritual use of wine practiced by the Shang kings. Under the Zhou, the ding and the privilege to perform the associated rituals became symbols of authority. The number of permitted ding varied according to one's rank in the Chinese nobility: the Nine Ding of the Zhou kings were a symbol of their rule over all China but were lost by the first emperor, Shi Huangdi in the late 3rd century BCE. Subsequently, imperial authority was represented by the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, carved out of the sacred Heshibi; it was lost at some point during the Five Dynasties after the collapse of the Tang.
A guang or gong is a particular shape used in Chinese art for vessels, originally made as Chinese ritual bronzes in the Shang dynasty, and sometimes later in Chinese porcelain. They are a type of ewer which was used for pouring rice wine at ritual banquets, and often deposited as grave goods in high-status burial. Examples of the shape may be described as ewers, ritual wine vessels, wine pourers and similar terms, though all of these terms are also used of a number of other shapes, especially the smaller tripod jue and the larger zun.
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A hu is a type of wine vessel that has a pear-shaped cross-section. Its body swells and flares into a narrow neck, creating S-shaped profile. While it is similar to you vessel, hu usually has a longer body and neck. The shape of hu probably derives from its ceramic prototype prior to the Shang dynasty. They usually have handles on the top or rings attached to each side of neck. Many extant hu lack lids while those excavated in such tombs as Fu Hao's indicate that this type of vessel might be originally made with lids. Although it is more often to see hu having a circular body, there also appears hu in square and flat rectangular forms, called fang hu and bian hu in Chinese. In addition, hu often came to be found in a pair or in a set together with other types of vessels. As wine had played an important part in the Shang ritual, the hu vessel might be placed in the grave of an ancestor as part of ritual in order to ensure a good relationship with ancestor's spirit.
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A gu is a type of ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It was used to drink wine or to offer ritual libations.
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