Monumental scale and the precise casting of animal imagery distinguish this vessel as a commission of late Shang royalty. Two tiers of monster masks encircle the flared bowl. Elongated version of these masks, which may also be interpreted as paired serpents, descend the sharply tapered legs. A bovine head with sculpted horns crowns the strap handle. Pieces of the clay core, visible through holes in the legs, remain from the piece-mold casting process.
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
IIIF Manifest
The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.
Archaic Chinese Bronzes of the Shang, Chou, and Han Periods in the Collections of Mr. Parish-Watson, notes by Berthold Laufer (New York: Parish-Watson & Co., 1922), p. 6, cat. 2, pl. 2 (ill).
C. F. Kelley and D.K. Wilson, “Bronzes Recently Acquired for the Buckingham Collection,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 21 (November-December 1927), pp. 98-99, 114-116.
Suiji Umehara, Shina-kodo Seikwa (Osaka: Yamanaka and Co., 1933), pt. 1, vol. 1, pl. 68.
Florance Waterbury, Early Chinese Symbols and Literature: Vestiges and Speculations (New York, 1942), pl. 75.
Charles Fabens Kelley and Ch’en Meng-chia, Chinese Bronzes from the Buckingham Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago/ Lakeside Press, 1946), p. 26, 148, pl. 8.
Chen Mengjia, In Shu seidoki bunrui zuroku: A Corpus of Chinese Bronzes in American Collections, ed. Matsumaru Michio (Tokyo:Kyoku Shuin, 1977), vol. 1 p. 308, cat. A308; vol. 2, p. 599 (ill). Japanese version of Mei diguo zhuyi jieliao de wo guo (Beijing, Kexue Chubanshe, 1962), based on unpublished manuscript by Chen Mengjia, Yin Zhou qingtongqi fenlei tulu.
Minao Hayashi, In Shu jidai seidoki no kenkyu (In Shu jidai seidoki soran ichi) [Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes], 1, part 2 (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1984), p.196, pl. 60.
Elinor Pearlstein and James T. Ulak, Asian Art in the Art Institute of Chicago (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993), pp. 16-17 (ill.).
Matsumaru Michio, In Shu seidoki bunrui zuroku: A Corpus of Chinese Bronzes in American Collections (Tokyo: Kyoku shuin, 1977), p. 64, 599.
Elinor Pearlstein, “Early Chicago Chronicles of Chinese Art”, Collectors, Collections & Collecting the Arts of China: Histories & Challenges; ed. Steuber, Jason with Guolong Lai ( University Press of Florida, 2014), p.14,15 , pl.1.10a
Purchased by Kate Buckingham from Parish-Watson, New York, 1922; given by her to the Art Institute, 1926.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.