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Ritual wine vessel, or zhi, with taotie pattern
- loan
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Details
- Associated place
- Date
-
11th - 10th century BC (1100 - 901 BC)
Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050 - c. 771 BC)
- Material and technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- 14 x 7 x 6 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
- Object type index
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container › vessel › wine-vessel,
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
- Accession no.
- LI1301.1
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Further reading
University of Sussex, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Barlow Collection, supervised by Regina Krahl, Maurice Howard, and Aiden Leeves (Sussex: University of Sussex, 2006), no. B1
Glossary
taotie
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taotie
Stylized monster mask decoration with prominent eyes and scrolling horns. The motif has been known since the 1100s. Its significance remains mysterious.
Location
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- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
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The Barlow Collection
The slender vessel has a pear-shaped body with a wide neck and rests on a tall flared foot. The shoulder is decorated with a band of taotie motifs, with two highly stylized masks with low relief eyes centred on shallow flanges, and other features dissolved into a triple band of curling motifs. The design is enclosed between two raised lines, and two further lines appear on the foot. The patina is green with reddish-brown patches. An inscription of three pictographs is cast on the base inside the vessel, consisting of a clan sign equivalent to the character bing, followed by the two characters fu bing [father bing].
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