Warring States period BC475-221

Hu vessel with Hunting Scenes Inlaid in Copper-like Paste

Height: 36.6 cm, greatest diameter: 27 cm

Decorated with shallow relief design, portrayed on the neck of this vessel are birds with snakes in their mouths and on the shoulders are winged spirit figures. The belly is decorated with figures and animals, the area below filled with hooked-cloud and geometric patterns. The shape of a hu is an extended container surviving from the early Warring States period. Its simple form includes only two handles in the shape of animal heads with rings in their mouths on the side of the shoulders. Representational content as decoration was a major development in bronzes of the late Spring and Autumn period. Most Chinese bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties were decorated with patterns of animal masks and birds. By the late Spring and Autumn period (early 5th century BC), however, patterns of hunting scenes began to appear on bronzes in Northern China; it later spread to Central China and included dramatic scenes of feasts and battles as decoration, marking a distinguishing style of decoration on Chinese bronzes. Since hunting designs were the earliest to appear in this for of décor, and examples of such have been excavated in Northern China, it has been speculated that the idea for such representational forms of decoration perhaps had its origin with the nomadic peoples who lived there, especially since these designs were quite similar to cliff drawings. Furthermore, this type of representation on bronzes is quite regional, archaeological discoveries revealing it as more popular in the regions of Henan, Shanxi, Hebei, Shaanxi, while being quite rare in the Eastern states of Qi and Lu as well as the Southern state of Chu.