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Funerary flask, or bian hu, with handles and animal mask decoration
- loan
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Details
- Associated place
- Date
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4th - 3rd century BC (400 - 201 BC)
Warring States period (475 BC - 221 BC)
Zhou Dynasty (c. 1122 - c. 256 BC)
- Material and technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- 24.8 x 26.5 x 9.5 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
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processed material › metal › alloy › copper alloy › bronze
- Technique index
- Object type index
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
- Accession no.
- LI1301.14
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Further reading
University of Sussex, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Barlow Collection, supervised by Regina Krahl, Maurice Howard, and Aiden Leeves (Sussex: University of Sussex, 2006), no. B16
Glossary
hu
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hu
A Chinese ritual baluster vessel.
Location
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- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
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The Barlow Collection
Of long rectangular section, the flask has a flat oval front and back, curved sides, a cylindrical neck and a splayed rectangular foot. Both shoulders have raised animal masks holding loose rings, the masks with elaborate curly features and a loop in place of a snout to hold the ring. The vessel is otherwise undecorated except for a recessed band around front and back and a raised band around neck and foot. The rim has an incurved edge with a recess for a cover to slot in, but the cover is missing. The patina is of grey-green tone.
© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum