Ritual wine vessel (hu)

Light green patination. Design in relief. Inscription of six characters on both the lid and the inside bottom of the vessel.

Historical period(s)
Western Zhou dynasty, late 11th-early 10th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 24.3 × 15.3 cm (9 9/16 × 6 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1959.14a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 13: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: hu

Keywords
animal, China, dragon, mask, Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE)
Provenance

To 1959
J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York. [1]

From 1959
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] See object file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

J.T. Tai & Co. established in 1950

Description

Light green patination. Design in relief. Inscription of six characters on both the lid and the inside bottom of the vessel.

Inscription(s)

Inscription of six characters on both the lid and the inside bottom of the vessel.

Published References
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. no. 5911-12, vol. 6.
  • Sueji Umehara. (Obei shucho) Shina kodo seika [Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America]. 7 vols., Kyoto and Osaka, 1933-1935. vol. 2, pl. 134.
  • Thomas Lawton. A Chinese Bronze Vessel Reconsidered. vol. 4, no. 2 Taipei, Winter 1986. .
  • Bernhard Karlgren. New Studies on Chinese Bronzes. vol. 9 Stockholm. cat. 592, pl. XVII.
  • Chin wen tsung chi. Taipei. vol. 7: pp. 2926-2927.
  • American Association of Museums. Title unknown. vol. 38, no. 10 Washington, June 1960. p. 3.
  • Bo Ju Gui: An important Chinese archaic bronze. Exh. cat. London. p. 17, fig. 6.
  • Liao-ning shing Ko-tso hsien Shan-wan-tzu ch'u-t'u Yin Chou ch'ing-t'ung ch'i. no. 12. pp. 24, 32, fig. 3, 52.
  • Cheung Kwong-yue. Wei-tso hsien Ch'in i-ch'i ming-wen shu-yao. p. 76.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 74, pp. 412-217.
  • Jessica Rawson. Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. 2 Washington and Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 493, fig. 67.5.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Request Permission | Terms of Use