'Zun' Ritual Wine Vessel with Decorative Bands of Birds and Dragons

Gallery Text

The move of the Zhou capital eastward in the wake of nomadic invasions marked a diminution of Zhou authority and the rise in power of surrounding states. Although in the earlier Western Zhou period, bronze was employed primarily for ritual vessels, weapons, and tools, during the Eastern Zhou era, it began to be used to make mirrors, bells, and chariot fittings as well. Bronze mirrors were polished smooth on their reflective sides, and their backs were intricately decorated with auspicious symbols or cosmological designs. Their reflectivity was believed to create light in a darkened tomb and to ward off evil. Chariots were vital for military warfare, and those of the powerful were fitted with ornate finials and attachments, which during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) were often inlaid with precious stones and metals. This technique was also employed with greater frequency in the casting of bronze vessels, revealing yet another shift in the function of such objects, from commemorative status symbols to more decorative vestiges of a ritual tradition.

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.52.94
Title: 'Zun' Ritual Wine Vessel with Decorative Bands of Birds and Dragons
Other Titles: Alternate Title: Qing zun
Classification: Vessels
Work Type: vessel
Date: early Western Zhou period, mid 11th-early 10th Century BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Zhou dynasty, Western Zhou period, c. 1050-771 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204344

Location

Location: Level 1, Room 1600, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Bronze Age to the Golden Age

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Physical Descriptions

Medium

Black-surfaced cast bronze; with dedicatory inscription by Qing cast on vessel floor

Dimensions

H. 25.8 x Diam. 20.2 cm (10 3/16 x 7 15/16 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

inscription: seven-character inscription integrally cast on vessel floor: Qing zuo [?] kao bao zun yi (Qing had this treasured sacrificial vessel made for his late father)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.52.94

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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Publication History

Chen Mengjia, Yin Zhou qingtongqi fenlei tulu (A corpus of Chinese bronzes in American Collections), Kyuko Shoin (Tokyo, Japan, 1977), A 438
Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections (Volume IIB), Arthur M. Sackler Foundation and Arthur M. Sackler Museum (Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, Mass., 1990), p. 578, fig. 87.6

Exhibition History

S427: Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
32Q: 1600 Early China II, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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1943.52.94: 'Zun' Ritual Wine Vessel with Decorative Bands of Birds and Dragons