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Lot Essay
Wei and xia function respectively as the axle cap and linchpin of a chariot wheel assembly. To secure the wheel and prevent it from slipping off the axle, the lower section of the wei is fitted onto the axle and locked in place by inserting the xia through rectangular apertures. Additional stabilization was achieved by threading leather thongs or small wooden pins through four perforations on the sides, ensuring a firm fastening.
This unusual structural design can be found in excavated examples, including one from Tomb M3:59 at Baijiacun, Handan, Hebei Province, illustrated in Sun Dehai, 'Hebei Handan Baijiacun Zhanguo mu', Kaogu 1962, no. 12, p. 613, and another from Tomb M1:123 at Shanbiaozhen, Jixian, Henan Province, published by Guo Baojun in Shanbiaozhen yu Liulige, 1959, pl. 28:3. Wei of this particular type, characterized by a broad and thickened base, appear as early as the Spring and Autumn period and reflect important mechanical advances in wheeled-vehicle construction. The form continued to be used through the Han dynasty.
The Shouyang Studio pair of wei xia is particularly notable for its elaborate cast decoration. Each wei terminates in a dodecagonal finial pierced by a central circular aperture and bears the inscription Ji yong, which may be translated as 'auspicious use.' Rectangular slots for the linchpin are positioned above the base. The ridges are decorated with lozenge-shaped cloud motifs, while the remaining surfaces are densely cast with intertwined dragons in low relief. Comparable decoration appears on a bronze hu with birds, animals, and dragons in the Shanghai Museum (see Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 8, 1995, pl. 65), as well as on ceramic molds excavated from the bronze foundry site at Houma, Shanxi Province (see Li Xiating and Liang Ziming, Art of the Houma Foundry, Princeton, 1996). Of particular note on the current weixia is the ingenious treatment of the rectangular apertures, which are visually integrated into the design as stylized animal masks, the slots forming gaping mouths framed by projecting noses, with eyes and horns articulated to either side.
This unusual structural design can be found in excavated examples, including one from Tomb M3:59 at Baijiacun, Handan, Hebei Province, illustrated in Sun Dehai, 'Hebei Handan Baijiacun Zhanguo mu', Kaogu 1962, no. 12, p. 613, and another from Tomb M1:123 at Shanbiaozhen, Jixian, Henan Province, published by Guo Baojun in Shanbiaozhen yu Liulige, 1959, pl. 28:3. Wei of this particular type, characterized by a broad and thickened base, appear as early as the Spring and Autumn period and reflect important mechanical advances in wheeled-vehicle construction. The form continued to be used through the Han dynasty.
The Shouyang Studio pair of wei xia is particularly notable for its elaborate cast decoration. Each wei terminates in a dodecagonal finial pierced by a central circular aperture and bears the inscription Ji yong, which may be translated as 'auspicious use.' Rectangular slots for the linchpin are positioned above the base. The ridges are decorated with lozenge-shaped cloud motifs, while the remaining surfaces are densely cast with intertwined dragons in low relief. Comparable decoration appears on a bronze hu with birds, animals, and dragons in the Shanghai Museum (see Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 8, 1995, pl. 65), as well as on ceramic molds excavated from the bronze foundry site at Houma, Shanxi Province (see Li Xiating and Liang Ziming, Art of the Houma Foundry, Princeton, 1996). Of particular note on the current weixia is the ingenious treatment of the rectangular apertures, which are visually integrated into the design as stylized animal masks, the slots forming gaping mouths framed by projecting noses, with eyes and horns articulated to either side.