Fang ding (“square tripod” cooking vessel) with taotie mask and gui dragon design / Artist Unknown, China

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Record Details

Accession Number
1961/2.82
Title
Fang ding (“square tripod” cooking vessel) with taotie mask and gui dragon design
Object Creation Date
12th century BCE
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
China (nation)
Henan (province)
Anyang
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
China (nation)
Creation Place 3
Henan (province)
Creation Place 4
Anyang
Inscription
Inscribed on interior side of vessel: "Father Chi," "Chariot"
Dimensions
26.3 cm x 19.3 cm x 15.6 cm (10 3/8 in. x 7 5/8 in. x 6 1/8 in.)
Primary Object Classification
Metalwork
Primary Object Type
vessel
Secondary Object Classification
Ritual Objects
Physical Description
square ding (ting) tripod with four legs, the body as well as the upper portion of the four legs is decorated with "t'ao-t'ieh" zoomorphic design. One of the leg was recast after the rest of the body has been completed, thus had a less refined craftmanship and joint line at its base. The double loop handles are also decorated with zoomorphic design. A group of three inscription is cast on the upper portion of the interior wall, which reads as Fu (father) Ji (day name), followed by an symbolic representation of a chariot, possibly a clan emblem. The interior is plain, the animal bone remains attached to the bottom and variations in patina patterns with a line running through the middle indicates that the vessel was once filled with cooked meat offerings, presumably in a Shang elite burial in late second millennium B.C.E.
Subject Matter
known as the ding tripod for cooking and presentation of food, usually animal meat, in ancestral rituals of early China. The narrow upper register of the body of the vessel is decorated with Kui dragons, face-to-face around the top. The dragons have open mouths, long thin bodies that end in curled tails. The body of the vessel is decorated with tao-tie masks with staring eyes and above which are broad, curving horns. The nose is formed by the raised flanges that divide each mask in half. At the bottom is the open, hook-like jaws. The upper sections of the legs and the two loop handles are also decorated with zoomorphic designs of masks and dragons.
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Technical Details

Image Size
865 x 999
File Size
79 KB
Record
1961/2.82
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1961-sl-2.82/1961_2.82.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1961-SL-2.82:1961_2.82.JPG

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"Fang ding (“square tripod” cooking vessel) with taotie mask and gui dragon design; Artist Unknown, China." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1961-sl-2.82/1961_2.82.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 18, 2024.
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