商晚期 青銅饕餮紋觚

Gu, which were ritual vessels used for wine, are one of the most recognizable of bronze forms of the Shang dynasty. The vessels date to as early as the Erlitou period, circa 2000 to 1500 BC, at which time they were a simple slender beaker, and eventually evolved into the elegant trumpet-mouthed vessel of the late Anyang period of 12th-11th century BC date, as exemplified by this finely cast example.

A comparable gu is illustrated by R.W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1987, p. 248, no. 36. See, also, the gu illustrated by W.T. Chase in Ancient Chinese Bronze Art, China House Gallery, New York, 1991, no. 9; and another by M. Loehr in Relics of Ancient China, The Asia Society, 1965, p. 41, no. 11.