Date of production: between -1100 and -1050
dating in century: 11th century bc. Ad
type(s) of object(s): china, beliefs - customs - cults - ceremonies, metal, metal arts, archeology
name(s): tableware and kitchen utensils, vase, religious object
materials and techniques: bronze, cast iron, mold casting
place(s) of execution/realization: hunan (province)
dimensions - artwork:
height: 32. 4cm
length: 23. 6cm
width: 23. 3cm
dimensions - lid:
height: 9. 9cm
length: 8. 3cm
width: 8. 5cm
description:
zoomorphic vase. Tigress embracing a child leaning on her tripod on her hind legs and tail. Decor divided into four zones. Iconographic description:
this you, intended to contain fermented drinks, is undoubtedly the most famous work of the cernuschi museum. The piece rests on the animal's two hind legs and the spiral end of its tail. A feline, with its mouth open, grips a small human snuggled up against it in its front paws. The abundant, almost baroque decor, made up of large animal motifs including numerous kui-type dragons, stands out against a background of square spirals, characteristic of the end of the shang period. The back of the animal, shaped like an elephant protome, is particularly majestic. A horned caprid, with large ears, surmounts the lid. The handle is articulated at the back of animal masks with pointed ears and a curved trunk. The archaeological context of the discovery of this piece is unknown. However, an oral tradition places its origin in hunan, at the foot of mount weishan, on the border of the districts of anhua and ningxiang, west of changsha. Two elements make this “southern” provenance plausible. The dark green, almost black, bronze has a shine that is lacking in the pickled vases from old collections of scholars. This aspect, on the other hand, is that of the pieces discovered with certainty in hunan. The zoomorphic you also seem to be another characteristic of the production of this independent province of the more northern kingdom of the shang. Several centuries later, at the time of the kingdom of chu (9th century - 223 bc), the cultural specificity of this region will be even more evident. The theme of a feline associated with a human figure, although attested in the kingdom of shang, is more frequent in the south. It may be linked to a tradition reported by the zuozhuan, an ancient commentary on the spring and autumn annals (8th - 5th century bc) which reports that the grandson of ruoao, originally from the kingdom of chu, named ziwen, was a baby taken in and fed by a tigress. The character's serene expression and his feet resting confidently on the feline's paws would support this type of explanation. Such a legend is part of stories of a totemic nature which are the basis of the origin of numerous aristocratic clans, mixing man and beast in a protective relationship or through a sexual union which gives birth to a mythical ancestor. However, it is impossible to identify such unusual iconography and the hypothesis sometimes put forward of a representation of the sacrifice of a slave child, symbolizing evil, cannot be completely ruled out. Author of the notice: gilles béguin
themes / subjects / places represented:
tiger, man, elephant, dragon
mode of acquisition: purchase at public sale
date of acquisition: 05–1920
institution: cernuschi museum, museum of asian arts of the city of paris
inventory number: m. C. 6155. Date: Entre -1100 et -1050.
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