Lot 75
East Asia, China, Early Zhou dynasty, ca. 1046 to 400 BCE. A large pan, or water dish, cast from bronze and made to grace an elite tomb. The vessel stands on three short feet and has a shallow basin with steeply sloping walls. Two vertical loop handles with mythical taotie masks at their upper terminals complete the form. A band of interlocking leiwen (a motif of thunder) encircles the body below its slightly projecting rim. Size: 20.4" W x 6" H (51.8 cm x 15.2 cm)
The taotie is one of the "four fiends" or "four evil creatures" of Chinese mythology, and is a particularly fascinating and ancient symbol - seen on Shang Dynasty bronzes. In the Lushi Chunqiu, known in English as Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, a Chinese encyclopedia compiled around 239 BCE, the taotie is described thusly: "The taotie on Zhou bronzes has a head but no body. When it eats people, it does not swallow them, but harms them" (16/3a Prophecy). This and other ancient descriptions of the creature suggest that it related to making food offerings/sacrifices for the insatiable spirits of the dead. Some scholars believe that the creature is part of the mysterious communication between people and the gods.
We owe the preservation of these ancient bronzes to their burial, either in storage pits, where they were hastily hidden by fleeing members of a defeated elite house, or, more commonly, in tombs. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, members of the royalty were accompanied in the afterlife by their bronzes, ceramics, weapons, amulets, and ornaments, and even the human and animal entourage that surrounded them in life: servants, bodyguards, horses, chariots, and charioteers. Each tomb had a set of specialized bronze vessels including a water vessel like this one.
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase. The testing of bronzes is rare, but if there is clay in the foot left over from the casting process - as here - that can be analyzed.
Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired in the early 1980s; ex-old English collection
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#153238
- Condition: Expertly repaired and restored from multiple large pieces. This is well done and unobtrusive and approximately 90% is original material. Rich deposits on surface with nicely preserved motifs. TL drill holes in the clay inside the feet.
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