| A bronze gu vase with animal mask and kui-dragon design from the late Shang dynasty. This bronze gu was a wine vessel. It has a wide trumpet mouth above a hollow, splayed foot. The waist is slender and can be held with the hand. The upper section from the mouth to the neck is decorated with a vertical plantain design in the shape of a blade and with a band of snake patterns. The main motif is the animal mask of a taotie, a ferocious mythical creature commonly depicted on bronzes from the Shang dynasty. This animal mask is cast on the waist and the splayed base and is symmetrically divided by raised flanges. The background is filled with leiwen thunder patterns in fine incised lines. Such a complex and dense decorative style is typical of the late Shang period. Also typical are the raised flanges, which have two purposes: hiding the casting marks and emphasising the solemn sense of the vessel. |
