Zun

CultureChinese
Titles
  • Zun
  • Ritual Vessel
Date12th century BC
PlaceChina
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 13 3/4 × 8 5/8 × 8 3/4 in. (34.9 × 21.9 × 22.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Alice Pratt Brown Museum Fund and the Friends of Asian Art
Object number2008.124
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
109M Jones Galleries
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Asian Art
Object Type
Description

Bronze vessels such as this wine beaker—known as a zun—represent one of China's earliest and most refined technical and creative developments. This zun dates to the Shang dynasty (16th century–1045 B.C.) and would have been used to offer food and wine to the spirits in ancestral rites, state ceremonies, and various ritual sacrifices.


The vessel is flared and flanged at the opening and the base. Eagle motifs appear at the top, under which several small dragons stand in profile. The body of the zun is covered with a traditional decorative motif called taotie that may have symbolized ancestral spirits or auspicious creatures. Undecorated bands divide the piece's surface into three clearly delineated segments. Toward the end of the Shang dynasty, thin sections of ornamentation commonly applied to bronze vessels began to expand so that patterns covered the entire object.


The silvery patina and green malachite corrosion on the surface of this zun indicate that the bronze used to make the vessel is unusually high in tin content. The Shang and Zhou dynasties are often referred to as China's Bronze Age, because during this period bronze was widely used to create weapons and ritual vessels.


ProvenanceResearch Ongoing

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Ding
13th century BC
Bronze
2007.747
Incensario Stand
c. 600–900
Earthenware with pigment
2018.638
Incensario Stand
c. 600–900
Earthenware with pigment
2018.637
A pair of Chenets
c. 1710–1740
Gilt bronze
2004.137.1,.2
Necklace
17th–19th century
Gold
2004.2305
Wutala, Ancestral Crown
17th–18th century
Gold
2004.2308
Funerary Mask
800–1375 AD
Gold
2010.443
Necklace
late 18th–early 19th century
Gold
2006.539
Pair of Tlaloc Eyepieces
900–1200
Mother-of-pearl
2016.31.1,.2
Funerary Mask
200 BC–200 AD
Gold
2004.2495
Vase with Cover
19th or 20th century
Hardstone (jade?)
96.1651.A-.C