A LARGE BRONZE DRUM, CHUNYU

LATE EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC

Details

A LARGE BRONZE DRUM, CHUNYU
LATE EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC
Of rounded elliptical section, the sides rising straight up before swelling below a short waisted neck and flared rim that surrounds a standing tiger, the head detailed with facial features, and the body with spirals on the haunches, herringbone pattern on the legs, striations on the sides and a collar around the neck, with outstretched tail, with mottled pale green and blue-green patina
21¾ in. (55.2 cm.) high

Provenance

In the Gordon Collection, United States, by 1997.

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Lot Essay

Two chunyu of this type are illustrated by J. So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1995, pp. 399-405, nos. 82 and 83, the first dated 4th-3rd century BC, the second late 3rd century BC. The shape of the two drums is quite similar, and each is surmounted by a tiger-form handle, but unlike the tiger on the present drum, neither has decoration cast on the body. Decoration similar to that on the present tiger can be seen on the tiger surmounting a chunyu from Hunan Changde Xian, dated to the 4th century BC, illustrated ibid., p. 402, fig. 82.4. The latter drum, however, also has a tiger cast on one side above a decorative band cast at the bottom of the drum. The author provides a full discussion of the apparent development of chunyu, pp. 399-400.

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