Date: Late Spring and Autumn (early 6th century - 476 BC)
Dimensions: Height 33.7 cm, Length 58.7 cm
Weight: 10,760 g
Material: Bronze
Excavated at Liyu Village, Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province, 1923

• Object Type：
  • BRONZE
• Location：
  • Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery
• Tag：
  • ox zun wine vessel spring and autumn bronze

This piece of work is modelled like a water buffalo. The belly of the buffalo is hollow and there are three holes from its neck to the end of its back. Inside the middle one, there is a removable pot-shaped container. Judging from its structure, it is a wine-warming vessel. Hot water can be poured into the hollow belly to heat the wine in the pot-shaped container on the back. Modelling wine vessel Zun in animal shapes is a unique feature of Chinese bronzes. 
The vessel looks dignified. The four legs are short but the two powerful horns and wide-open eyes retain the sense of reality, combining the artistic conception and utility harmoniously. The ring in the nose indicates that as early as in the Spring and Autumn period, domestication of cattle by piercing the nose had already begun. It is a valuable material object for the study of China's history of the domestication of livestock. It is finely decorated in shallow relief with animal faces composed of coiled dragon and snake patterns on the buffalo’s head, neck, body and legs. Reliefs of tigers and rhinoceros in vivid forms and beautiful workmanship are found around the neck of the buffalo and on the pot-shaped container.

• More Information
• 【每月一珍】 Ox-shaped <h style='font-style:italic'>Zun</h> (wine vessel)