Vase liding 鬲鼎

Anonyme

This piece is one of the rare bronzes from the early Anyang period in the museum’s collection. Above the three feet, taotie masks, which are not very sharply defined despite the emphasis placed on the protruding eyes, take the form of two kui-type dragons facing each other. The interlaced designs, representing the character lei, “thunder”, blend with the monster motifs, not yet forming a quite distinct covering pattern as they would in the last phase of production in Anyang. The upper band features these “thunder motifs” or leiwen, forming double interlinked spirals. All over the vessel’s surface the incisions are filled with a blackish paste, perhaps of quartz mixed with cuprite. This technique, although rare, is found in other pieces.