CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

Cat 67 from above and
side: decoration and cross
section. After Zhongguo
19803, 45, fig. 30.
made rarely (perhaps only for Shang kings and
queens). The ability to study them, in turn, is mediated
by accidents of preservation and discovery.
The assemblage consists of a large, six-legged
table with three bowls (zeng) held in position by
collars that encircle openings on the top of the
table. The table itself is a box that held water for
steaming when a fire was laid amid the legs, and
residues of soot suggest that the table was in fact
employed for this purpose. Each zeng is open at
the bottom; an insert of woven bamboo or the like
must have been used to hold the grain and to allow
the steam to penetrate the contents. The contents
of the zeng would likely have been transferred to
bowls and served at the altar. The design is flawed:
the loop handles of the zeng block one another
when all three are in position.
The decoration of theyan is somewhat improvisatory.
The upper register on the sides of the table
displays a band of dragons in profile and whorls;
triangular lappets form a second band below. The
collars and the zeng are decorated with bands of
repeating motifs. Diamondback dragons loop
around the openings on the top of the table, but
here the decoration is less formally balanced:
while the heads and tails of two dragons come
together at one side of the center collar, only
one dragon lies on the other side; lest the surface
remain undecorated, however, a frontal animal
mask and miniature dragon motif fill this area. RT
i
Excavated in 1976 (M 5: 790 \yan], 768, 769, 770 [vessels];
reported: Zhongguo 1980, 44-46.
167 | TOMB 5 AT XIAOTUN