Hunting-motif hu

Warring States period (481 221 B.C.), ca. 5th century B.C.
Height: 35.1 cm Mouth diameter: 12.3 cm Weight: 5215 g

This large, round-bodied vase sits on a low ring foot. Animal masks in high relief on the shoulder of the vessel carry large metal ring-handles that pass through their noses. The decoration of the vessel comprises a total of six horizontal registers, alternately abstract ornament executed in metal inlay and pictorial units (probably in turquoise inlay, now lost). The band around the neck shows intertwined snakes and birds; the middle one on the shoulder shows scenes of hunting; the last band contains hunting scenes again, and below them a repeated depiction of a bird figure with long crest and tail, standing upright and facing toward the sun. The bird-like men below are similar to those appearing in a supernatural tale recorded in the Shan-hai Ching, a Han-dynasty compilation of early myths.

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