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Bronze ritual pouring vessel (he) in the form of an animal China, Eastern Zhou period, early Warring States period, 475 - 221 BC
A bronze pouring vessel, the globular body cast as a hybrid, winged beast standing on four short, flanged legs, which end in round-clawed feet. The spout of the ewer is in the form of an animal’s head with open mouth, pricked back ears, and bulging eyes. The ewer is fitted with an overhead handle, cast in the form of a thin, tiger-like beast with curved, facetted body. The slightly domed cover is linked to the handle by three rings. The ewer’s plump body is decorated with false wings, each formed by a curled snake from which five feathers emerge. A short tail protrudes from the back of the vessel. The chest of the animal is engraved with a fifteen-character dedicatory inscription. The vessel is covered in an attractive malachite green patina, with some small areas of cuprite.
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He-ewers were used in ritual ceremonies for heating liquids such as water or beer 1. Although many extant He have animalistic elements in their decorative scheme - mostly in the spout and the handle - it is extremely rare to find examples cast as complete animals. Just a few similar examples have been published; the closest comparable example entered the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing in 1946 2. Although almost identical, the spout of the latter is fashioned in the form of a bird, and has a tiny, hinged lid. Another closely related animal he, excavated from a site near the Jing river in Gansu province in 1962 and now in the Gansu Provincial Museum, has a different handle and a cover with a small bird as finial 3.