<em>Ritual Wine Vessel (Guang)</em>, 13th–11th century B.C.E. Bronze, 6 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (16.5 x 8.3 x 21.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 72.163a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 72.163a-b_PS9.jpg)

Ritual Wine Vessel (Guang), 13th–11th century B.C.E. Bronze, 6 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (16.5 x 8.3 x 21.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 72.163a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 72.163a-b_PS9.jpg)

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What is this object?

This object is known as a "guang" which is a type of wine vessel used in ritual settings in ancient China, it emerged in the Shang Dynasty. It would have been placed on an altar, most likely in a family temple, where bronze vessels held offerings of food and wine given in ritual worship to the ancestors of the living family. This especially elaborate guang is decorated with a dragon and taotie (or demon mask) motif. Hot wine inside would have produced steam that poured out of the creature's mouth!

What would this be used for?

This is designed to hold wine to be poured in a ritualized setting. The wine would have been hot and steam could escape through the dragon's slightly open mouth making it appear to breathe vapors.

Thank you!

What country is this from?

That object, known as a Guang, comes from China during the Shang Dynasty (13th-11th century B.C.E.).

This is really cool! What animal is it?

The lid is shaped like a dragon but it also has a handle that forms a different beast. Two demon masks with horns, bulging eyes, and fangs also decorate the sides.

Other dragons, birds, and mythical creatures also make an appearance.

Who made this?

This ornate bronze vessel was made by an unknown artist in China during the Shang Dynasty.

It looks like a snail not a dragon?

Indeed it does! I thought of a snail as well when I first saw it. But in the Chinese context and during this time period, it would have been recognized as a dragon.

Ritual Wine Vessel (Guang)

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)

This Shang-dynasty gong is the finest Chinese ritual bronze in the Museum’s collection. The lid is shaped like a dragon with a maniacal, toothy grin and protruding horns while the handle forms another beast. On the sides are two demon masks (taotie) with horns, fangs, and bulging eyes, and another two are found under the chin and tail of the beast. In total, twenty dragons, birds, and mythical creatures morph into each other on the lid and body of the vessel, illustrating the spiritual transformation that the ancient Chinese believed occurs when communicating with ancestors, or when leaving this world for the afterlife to become an ancestor oneself. Such vessels were used for pouring wine offerings on ancestral altars or during ritual banquets by Shang kings, who served as the communication links between the living and their ancestors.

MEDIUM Bronze

Place Made: China

DATES 13th–11th century B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Shang Dynasty

PERIOD Shang Dynasty

DIMENSIONS 6 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (16.5 x 8.3 x 21.6 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 72.163a-b

CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Oblong wine pouring vessel in the shape of a mythical animal, mold-cast in bronze with high-relief decoration of stylized animal and geometric forms. Brooklyn's Shang Dynasty bronze "Guang" is the Museum's finest early bronze. Truly sculptural in its conception, the "Guang" combines striking animal imagery with finely cast geometric designs. The rituals of the Shang kings were elaborations of banquets that included serving food and wine, and this superbly cast "Guang" is a type of wine vessel. Like other bronzes, it is a symbol of authority, and possession of the best artistic products is directly linked to social and political prestige. The decoration of animals and animal masks raises the much debated question of meaning in Shang bronzes. One writer has suggested the animals represent spirits that possessed Shang shamans during ritual, but this question, which is fueled by the extraordinary sophistication and assurance of Shang animal ornament, has no simple answer.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)

CAPTION Ritual Wine Vessel (Guang), 13th–11th century B.C.E. Bronze, 6 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (16.5 x 8.3 x 21.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 72.163a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 72.163a-b_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 72.163a-b_PS9.jpg., 2019

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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