Wine container (hu)
This ritual wine container with exquisite inlaid decoration illustrates a major innovation in China’s bronze tradition in the late Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE) when, inspired by the nomadic art of the steppes, Chinese craftspeople applied sumptuous surface decor to otherwise austere bronzes. It also epitomizes a critical change in the function of bronze vessels from ritual objects to vehicles for the display of wealth and status.
Artwork Details
- 東周 青銅錯銅勾連紋壺
- Title: Wine container (hu)
- Period: Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE)
- Date: 5th–4th century BCE
- Culture: China
- Medium: Bronze, bronze inlay
- Dimensions: H. 13 in. (33 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2021
- Object Number: 2021.259
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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