Vase ding 鼎
Bronze, Fonte = fondu, Fonte au moule
Vaisselle et ustensile de cuisine, Vase, Objet religieux
H. 55.5 x D. 49.5 cm
M.C. 523
Legs, Cernuschi, Henri
This monumental tripod belongs to a group of numerous large-sized ding dating from the Western Zhou dynasty (late 10th-early 9th centuries BC), including notably the Xiao Da Ke ding in the Shanghai Museum and the Yuding in the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi’an. Several others are pictured in J. Rawson (vol. II B, p. 296-299). All have a belly that narrows slightly in the upper part. Some of them, including the Cernuschi Museum piece, have feet decorated with taotie masks.
The expansive and impressive designs with highly decorative ribboned motifs make the Paris ding one of finest works of this group. Four large dragons mirroring each other symmetrically, with long curved trunks, occupy the main band, their arrangement not forming any other motif. On either side of the upper register, however, highly stylised birds, with their head swivelled round so that they face each other crest-forward, form a taotie mask, although not one that is immediately visible.
Comparable ding bearing inscriptions enable these works to be dated to between the Gongwang reign (r. 927-908 BC) and the Liwang reign (r. 857-828 BC).
Maucuer, Michel, Henri Cernuschi (1821-1896), voyageur et collectionneur, Paris : Paris-Musées
Rawson, Jessica, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, 2 vol., Washington: The Arthur M. Sackler Fondation / Cambridge: The Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, (Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. II B), 1990, p.296-299.
