Ho (Ritual Wine Vessel)

Artist Unknown (China) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:03:10 -0500

Title	Ho (Ritual Wine Vessel)
Artist	Artist Unknown (China)
Date	11th-10th century B.C.
Institution	Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Location	On view at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, G214

Ho, inscribed. Vessels of the Ho class vary according to the shape of the belly, which may be that of a Li, a Li-ting, or a Ting. This unique specimen has the hemispherical shape of a Ting. The handle, surmounted by an animal's head; the chain and its rings; the small handle on the lid decorated with dragon heads; the spout and the legs are very simple. The blade decor of the spout and legs, and the dragon motif in the neck and lid belts -- so dissolved as to leave only the eyes and interlocked double spirals as remnants of the bodies -- are in no way uncommon. In view of their off-hand treatment, the decor of the belly is doubly striking. It consists of rows of scales in flat,double-band relief, each scale being filled with a dissolved cicada motif in thread relief. This scale decor is a harbinger of the scale-band of the Middle Chou style. Therefore this vessel, with its cylindrical legs of the earlier periods, is best dated in the latter part of the early Chou, on the border of Middle Chou, i.e., circa B.C.900. Patina gray and blue-green

Ho (Ritual Wine Vessel)

Ho (Ritual Wine Vessel)

Ho (Ritual Wine Vessel)

Artist Unknown (China)

11th-10th century B.C.