Wine container (hu)

China

Not on view

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.

Wine container (hu), Bronze, bronze inlay, China

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Wine container (hu), Bronze, bronze inlay, China
Wine container (hu), Bronze, bronze inlay, China
Wine container (hu), Bronze, bronze inlay, China
Wine container (hu), Bronze, bronze inlay, China
Wine container (hu), Bronze, bronze inlay, China

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