P'an (Ritual Water Vessel)

Artist Unknown (China) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 02:05:44 -0500

Title	P'an (Ritual Water Vessel)
Artist	Artist Unknown (China)
Date	late 11th-10th century BCE
Institution	Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Location	On view at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, G214

The P'an of the Yin era do not usually have handles; those of Early Chou usually, but not invariably, do. Teh division of the two decor belts, neck and foot, is achieved in teh former by an unusually realistic bovine head, and in the latter by a thin flange. The decor ground is of spirals of varying size throughout. The bird in the foot belt, of the regular type, displays one odd variation. The long tail is, as usual, cleft in two parts, the lower descending, the upper rising in a long loop. In this instance, however, the shorter part is modified so as to resemble the leg of the bird, giving the impression that the bird has one front and one hind leg. The tuft in the middle, whee the tail goes out from the boky, is a common feature (cf. vessel 50.46.19, Karlgren #33). The winged dragon in the upper belt has a small vertial crest and a big bottle horn with a fingerleaf top that has an eye in the center of the leaf. Patina grey-green in neck and foot belts.

P'an (Ritual Water Vessel)

P'an (Ritual Water Vessel)

P'an (Ritual Water Vessel)

Artist Unknown (China)

late 11th-10th century BCE