CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

traditionally associated with the hu are here
transferred to the jin.
The most impressive decorative feature of
the hu are the large handles in the form of sinuous
monsters whose heads and tails sprout antler
forms. 10 Antlered monster figures appear on Xiasi
and Xingzheng hu, and these creatures seem to be
descendants of such figures. Belief in the magical
efficacy of antlers seems to have been particularly
important in the Chu sphere, where they were
a prominent feature of carved wood tomb guardians
(see cat. loo). 11 The antlers decorating this vessel
were no doubt intended to enhance the ritual aura
of the hu. The textured surface of the hu, on close
inspection, reveals a dazzling number of small
fantastical creatures. CM
adjacent jian-fou would have been used to decant
the wine from the hu into the jian. Three other
bronze jin are known, including a famous example
with openwork decoration from Xiasi Tomb 2, 4 but
the vessel from Marquis Yi s tomb is the only example
found with its associated hu. Jin were probably
more often made of less costly materials, such as
stone, ceramic, or (in the Chu state and its sphere)
lacquered wood. 5 Its appearance here in bronze
exemplifies the extravagant use of the material in
the marquis' ritual paraphernalia.
Antecedents of these hu can be traced back to
the Middle Western Zhou period, when paired hu
began to displace wine vessels such as zun. 6 During
the Early Eastern Zhou period, hu were particularly
favored in the Chu and Zeng states, where they
were cast on a monumental scale and assumed a
more articulated profile. 7 By the seventh century
BCE, monster-shaped handles had replaced the
traditional mask design, and decorative straps
(which appear on examples dating from the Western
Zhou period) had become more prominent;
celebrated examples from Xiasi and Xinzheng 8
exemplify this trend. The vessels from the tomb of
Marquis Yi differ from these immediate predecessors
in two respects: circular sections (which may
derive from Western Zhou examples 9 ) substitute for
the rectangular outline, and the zoomorphic feet
1 Excavated in 1978 (C 132,133,135); reported: Hubei 1989,
1:219-222, figs. 119-120 and 2: pis. 63-64. A cast inscription
inside the neck of each hu reads "Marquis Yi of Zeng
commissioned [this vessel]; may he possess and use it for
eternity."
2 According to the excavation report (Hubei 1989,1:221), the
neck and foot were cast first, then joined to the belly.
3 Hu vessels are depicted on a yi from Changzhi Fenshuiling
in Shanxi province, a dou in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore,
and a hu in the Musee Guimet, Paris: Weber 1973,
figs. 2id, 66d, and 676. In each case, the ladle is depicted
floating above the hu. Hu with ladles are described in the
Xiang Yin (District Symposium) section of the Yi If. See
also Steele 1917 (1966 repr.), 52.
4 See Henan 1991, pi. 49
5 A square, lacquered wood jin found in the central
chamber of Marquis Yi's tomb may have been a stand
for dou rather than hu; a rectangular table that may have
originally held lacquered hu was found in the northern
chamber (Hubei 1989,1:374-376, figs. 233-234). Both
examples have legs taller than those of the bronze version.
Another version in lacquered wood has been found in the
fourth-century BCE Tianxingguan Tomb i at Jiangling: see
Hubei 1982,102, fig. 26 and pi. 22:5.
6 See Rawson 1990, 74,102 -103.
7 866501983,64-71.
8 See Guan 1929, i: pi. 38.
9 The combination of the hu's rounded forms with a rectangular
stand may have reflected cosmological concerns.
The L-shaped raised borders on the stand echo similar
L-shapes used as part of a cosmological diagram on the
lacquered wood clothes-chests in the Marquis Yi's tomb.
See Hubei 1989,1:357, fig. 217.
10 The complexity and undercutting of the antler forms
indicate that they were cast using the lost-wax method.
11 See Mackenzie 1991,107-158.
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